The original poster (OP) was looking for cheap software:
[caption id="attachment_640" align="alignnone" width="419" caption="Seeking deals in spam"]
[/caption]Everything about this deal screams "SCAM". Others agreed.
[caption id="attachment_643" align="alignnone" width="466" caption="Pointing out his error"]
[/caption]OP disagreed with everyone (there were many more, "Don't Do it!" posts.
[caption id="attachment_656" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="Does he really believe this?"]
[/caption]Did anyone actually read the first graphic? Do you remember him saying his VISA card was compromised in December, and he has no idea why.
I finally tried to explain why he was wrong. It didn't do any good.
[caption id="attachment_661" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="I weigh in"]
[/caption]The moderator killed the thread, but not before it was obvious that, no matter the risk, this guy was going to try to buy from spammers. Of course, part of the problem was his definition of spam. To him, any mention of a product in an electronic medium is spam. I know this because he used a thread about the Magic Jack internet phone service as an example of legitimate spam.
The rest of his problem was he didn't want to be educated. He asked for advice, then completely disregarded it. I'm sure one day he will be wondering how somebody found out enough about him to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Or maybe only tens of thousands. Either way, he could have gone a long way toward avoiding it by just not using spam to shop with.
Oh, and that link to check websites is: http://www.siteadvisor.com/
Enter the URL of the site you want to check in the box on the right:
[caption id="attachment_664" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="One useful tool"]
[/caption]Of course, if you are using current versions of most browsers, many have built in sitecheckers. But it's hard to overtest these things.
Hope this was helpful. Keep your eyes open and keep safe
Unfortunately legitmate companies most certainly do send spam. I'm currently trying to get Sears and CBN to stop spamming me, completely without success. I have contacted them both numerous times, and both of them have promised to stop numerous times, but the spam continues to flow.
ReplyDeleteI've never had a problem with a legitimate business continuing to send me emails after I "opted out" of their email list. I do have problems with emails claiming to be from well known companies that aren't, though.
ReplyDeleteAn option that might help in the long term is to forward spam to spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses emails forwarded to go after spammers. The FTC also has a page with some old, but still good, information:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/spam/consumer.htm
Texas does have an anti-spam law, as do several other states. You can report spammers to the Attorney General - if it really is Sears and CBN, Sears at least will listen if the AG gets enough complaints to talk to them about it. The Texas AG office is http://www.oag.state.tx.us
Here is a list of links to state spam laws: http://www.spamlaws.com/state/index.shtml
In the lower left corner of that page you will also find links to information on US and foreign spam laws.