Filed under: Internet, Security, E-mail
Reformed spammer says he made up to $15,000 per week
Only a tiny fraction of internet users respond to spam email messages promising miracle drugs, hot dates, or the ability to enlarge various anatomical parts. But spam is still a profitable industry. One former spammer who goes by the name of Spammer-X says he made $480,000 during his last year as a spam artist.He worked hard for his money, spending ten hours a day, seven days a week devising new ways to send messages that would get past spam filters.
Of course, no spammer exists in a vacuum. He made his money for referring customers to actual businesses selling actual products (of dubious merit). Not that we'd recommend giving the guy more money, but he's written a book about his experiences, which he says has become popular with law enforcement types.
Why did he get out of the business? Telling people what he did for a living was getting uncomfortable, as was the amount of cash he had lying around the apartment in stacks of $20 bills. He was paid primarily in electronic funds through services like PayPal and e-gold, from which he withdrew the money as cash.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Monoto said 6:07PM on 7-20-2007
I can understand that telling people that you send spam for a living might be a bit uncomfortable, but that was his own fault. As for feeling awkward about having piles of cash all over his apartment? Yeah, also his fault.
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Ryan Wagner said 8:30PM on 7-20-2007
I'm sure that it would be an interesting job...and probably one of the few jobs where nearly everyone in the world hates you. I would ask how the guy sleeps at night, but apparently it is on a stack of $20 bills. ;)
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rickster said 9:29PM on 7-20-2007
That book is from 2004.... slow news day?
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