Re: ecard scam

Ralph B wrote:
On Jul 9, 5:35 pm, Marjorie <dontusethisaddr...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Jo Lonergan wrote:
On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:45:25 +0100, Marjorie
<dontusethisaddr...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've long been suspicious that e-card websites were a source of
address-harvesting for spammers. When I reorganised my e-mail addresses
to cope with spamming, I asked friends to use a particular (disposable)
e-mail address if they wanted to send me an e-card. One friend who sends
me e-cards replied in quite a wounded tone, saying that she'd chosen the
site she uses very carefully and had every confidence in the person who
runs it. AFAIK she understands less about computers and the internet
than I do, and I really don't know how she could be so sure that the
site was secure enough.
Perhaps the first part of your last sentence explains the second?
One of my menagerie of pet hates is people sending jokes to me, and
the rest of their address book, as visible CCs.
That's another thing I mentioned in my "Change of e-mail" message: I
sent it to myself with all the recipients in as Bcc, and explained what
I'd done and why, in the hope that others would get the hint. One guy
still kept forwarding us "funnies" (not!) and I eventually asked him not
to, because of spam problems.

But is seems some people (mainly male, I think) love to exchange e-mail
jokes with large numbers of others. I know one guy who told me
enthusiastically how he exchanged jokes with friends by e-mail and got
hundreds of jokes every week.

S'funny you should say that, because my experience is that it is
mostly a female habit to foward these email circulars. But maybe
that's because most of my correspondents are fellow softies (and thus
mainly male) and they understand the problems. My female
correspondents (present company excepted) tend to be less relevantly
educated and/or more trusting.

Ah, I didn't explain myself. I meant that the enthusiasm for joke-sharing is more of a male thing. Being naive about e-mail systems may well be more of a girlie failing (present company, ie umrats, excepted!)

--
Marjorie
.