 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
||
Gimmicks galore
By Tarek AtiaI opened my Hotmail mailbox this morning and found 46 new messages. Wow, I thought, I'm a pretty popular guy.
But then I took a closer look at who these e-mails were from. Did I know a "findanyone51@safe-ma.com" or a "reject@compare.com"? I didn't think so. Even stranger was the fact that several of the e-mails were from myself.
"AUTHENTIC CONFIDENTIAL ID'S!!" one of the mail's subject-lines screamed out. "We FIND Missing People for YOU... Or it's FREE..." offered another.
Needless to say, these were all ads, as an alarming amount of the e-mail I get has become. Frankly, it's getting harder to locate the few personal messages I do get from the piles and piles of junk.
The mail, which has been arriving at my virtual doorstep in increasing numbers by the day, ranges from the obscene, outrageous and obvious, to the sneaky and obscure, like the one I got a while ago from "babycjjaz@yahoo.com" titled "I Dare You To Open This."
I did, only to find yet another challenge. If I replied to the mail, I would receive the address of a web-site that "has it all." The mail provided nary a hint of what the site would be about, which, in my humble opinion, isn't a very good sales tactic. I mean, if you've got something to sell, you should at least give me some sort of a clue as to what it is.
That's just one of the problems with much of this Internet junk mail. It rarely delivers more than the rueful chuckle. Occasionally, I've actually ventured to click on one of the sites being promoted, only to be sorely disappointed.
For instance: someone once wrote to tell me that I could get "Round Trip Airfare to Hawaii for Two as low as $14.95." Even though I sensed a fraud waiting to happen, I decided to give it a try.
I clicked, I waited and then I waited some more. A browser opened up and searched for the site. A few minutes later, that inevitable "ping" error-sound emerged from my computer. "Sorry, the URL cannot be found," I was told.
I tried it with another gimmick e-mail, this one claiming that the sender would "eat his mouse" if what I found wasn't the "BEST fully-automated business-building system" I'd ever seen.
Guess what? I never got to see it. Same ping, same error.
So what is the point of all this junk mail, then, if it doesn't even lead to any real sales pitch, let alone deliver the fantasies it promises?
Turns out many of these messages are actually just vessels containing "cookies," an Internet term for tools embedded in the code, designed to get information out of you, the user, without you even being aware of what's going on. Just by opening up the mail, or clicking on the web address contained therein, you may have given someone your e-mail, your domain server name, or any other of your vital on-line statistics.
Which means you're really helping that person make money instead of you. Because the business of selling e-mail addresses is getting bigger everyday. With no paper costs for fancy brochures, any entrepreneur or swindler anywhere can instantly target thousands, if not millions, of innocent web users at the same time with just a simple click of the mouse.
So next time, beware. After all, how many "ground floor opportunities to make thousands of dollars a month" can there really be?
Some of the junk e-mails I've received in the past year
1)10 to 20 Years Younger "What if you could be growing younger instead of older?" 2)Work Smarter Not Harder "Looking for a proven programme that REALLY CAN generate $10,000-$20,000 plus monthly?" 3)Japanese Pen Pals "Hi/konichiwa... Are you interested in finding Japanese penpals?" 4)Get Paid To Read Your E-mail!! No joke! "You've just earned $.05 by opening this email message! Please fill out the mailing form so we can send your nickel in the mail." 5)BIZ OPP & FREE TRAVEL "This is your chance to get in on the ground floor of the Multi-Billion-Dollar Home Based Business Revolution." 6)Serious Networkers only. No wimps allowed! "WARNING: If you don't read the rest of this message, it could cost you up to $79,000 per month in residual income." 7)Loco-Joe Cappuccino Beverage Distributorships Now Available "Be first in your market to control the distribution of this great new beverage." 8)Lose 2-14 Inches in ONE HOUR! 100% Guaranteed "What are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose except fat!! Get details NOW about our clinically proven body wrap." 9)Locate military buddies or high school friends "With CYBER DETECTIVE You Can Have All The Power You Could Ever Want!" 10)UNIVERSITY DIPLOMAS "Diplomas from prestigious non-accredited universities based on your present knowledge and life experience. No required tests, classes, books or interviews. Bachelors, masters, MBAs, and doctorate (PhD) diplomas available in the field of your choice. No one is turned down."
