Darn political spam!

[mrmaxx]

Funny thing happened to me today while I was checking my email... I found I'd received a political spam from the GOP. They *claimed* I'd signed up for it, but seeing as to how I'm NOT a Republican, I don't think I would have. :-)

I sent them a nice little nastygram after I unsubbed telling 'em to stop buying mailing lists and that they need to follow the MAPS guidelines for mailing list management...

Just wondering if anyone else got this spam, or was it just me?

[StevenUnderwood]

1. Never unsubscribe to something you did not subscribe to in the first place.

2. I used to receive DNC requests for money all the time while never signing up for it, so both parties do it. I reported each and every one even though I support the DNC's views.

3. I have also been receiving political messages this year from an independant organization supporting the democrats. I also report all of them.

[DavidT]

2.  I used to receive DNC requests for money all the time while never signing up for it, so both parties do it.  I reported each and every one even though I support the DNC's views.

3.  I have also been receiving political messages this year from an independant organization supporting the democrats.  I also report all of them.

Steven,

I imagine you're talking about messages from MoveOn.org, yes? I get both those and the DNC messages, but it's because I gave them both money *and* my email address. I sincerely doubt that either of those organizations simply grabbed your address out of thin air. It's much more likely that you indeed supplied your address when filling out an online vote/poll, and that they took that as a subscription, even if that wasn't your intent.

In cases like this, when the people sending you stuff are on the "up and up" and not spammers, I suggest that you simply cooperate with their unsubscribe procedure. By reporting their legitimate messages, you make it more likely that people who want to receive the messages won't, because you'll contribute to getting those servers on the SpamCop BL over and over again....please don't do that!

DT

[StevenUnderwood]

No on both accounts.

The ONLY thing I did before I started receiving the DNC messages was keep my registration as Democrat rather than Independant as I always had. Suddenly, I was receiving emails, letters, and phone calls. I never gave then any address.

And I don't think it was moveon, though I have never heard of them. Do they use spammers tactics of using comprimised home machines to get their message accross? The ones I am receiving do.

I report any organization that acquires my address without me gving it to them the same way. Just because others may legitamately sign up for these announcements, I did not. I also reported my senator after a direct call to his office did no good because he had signed me up to his monthly newsletter after I sent him an email asking for clarification on one of his positions. In that letter, I stated I would accept a single email reply, but expected no further email communication. If his staff can not be bothered reading and understanding letters sent from their constituants, he gets what he deserves.

[Miss Betsy]

IMHO, if you think that the organization is really legitimate and simply using email addresses (or snail addresses or phone numbers) that they have gotten using reverse lookups or whatever, then polite letters, phone calls, etc. explaining the association with spammers who are shady if not outright criminals that creating lists without the express permission of the listees creates in the mind of the recipient. And then escalating to promises of reporting such behavior as unsolicited if not stopped is the better way to proceed. For one thing the ISP who may not see that a good customer is doing anything wrong and ignore 'spam' reports, might take a 'won't unsubscribe' report more seriously.

However, never use the unsubscribe without first subscribing. You can explain in your initial contacts how it is recommended never to use the 'unsubscribe' for those things you never subscribed to and that 'phishers' will concoct legitimate looking email to suck people in.

While spamcop reporting is extremely good for spam that sneaks under white hat radars and for the blocklist for those ISPs who do nothing, spamcop reports are not as good for the 'grey' areas where possibly one has 'signed up'. There are too many people who forget or overlook a wanted spam that the ISP and sender can always claim 'reporter mistake'. IMHO, a prospective voter or customer has a lot more clout in getting the sender to correct his practices than a 'spam' report especially if s/he is graphic in how the practice turns hir off.

My $.02 USD

Miss Betsy

[DavidT]

The ONLY thing I did before I started receiving the DNC messages was keep my registration as Democrat rather than Independant as I always had.  Suddenly, I was receiving emails, letters, and phone calls.  I never gave then any address.

That doesn't make any sense...how would the DNC have obtained your address? Letters and phone calls are another issue, but there's simply no "email directory" where they could have associated your email address with your party registration. That's why I suggested a more plausible explanation.

Another possible explanation is that of a malicious subscription, but that would mean that the list you're on doesn't use confirmation messages (quite possible, given what you've said so far).

Still, my point is that if it's coming from a legitimate organization who you can easily contact and communicate with, then the hard line policies used in cases of conventional spammers don't always make sense. I'm a bit surprised you haven't heard of "MoveOn.org" -- they are a major player on the US political scene.

DT

[turetzsr]

<snip>The ONLY thing I did before I started receiving the DNC messages was keep my registration as Democrat rather than Independant as I always had. Suddenly, I was receiving emails, letters, and phone calls. I never gave then any address.

18576[/snapback]

That doesn't make any sense...how would the DNC have obtained your address? Letters and phone calls are another issue, but there's simply no "email directory" where they could have associated your email address with your party registration. That's why I suggested a more plausible explanation.

<snip>

18585[/snapback]

...Perhaps this explains it?

<snip>

I also reported my senator after a direct call to his office did no good because he had signed me up to his monthly newsletter after I sent him an email asking for clarification on one of his positions.

<snip>

18576[/snapback]

Steven -- is this senator a Democrat, by any chance? Perhaps the DNC got your e-mail address from her/him.

[StevenUnderwood]

It could be, but then they (all) collected my email address in direct violation to the body of the message sent.

That message had words along the line of: I will report as spam any messages received beyond the direct answer to my questons here. I do not authorize this address to be added to any mailing lists or to be used for any other purpose.

As stated, I also called their office to complain about the handling of my email address.

[turetzsr]

...Not arguing they had a right to use it, just trying to answer DT's question as to how the DNC may have gotten your e-mail address

[StevenUnderwood]

I just received another one and realized the recent ones are not from DNC but dscc.org (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) so getting my address from my Senator definitely makes sense.

[DavidT]

I just received another one and realized the recent ones are not from DNC but dscc.org (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) so getting my address from my Senator definitely makes sense.

I just searched the archives of "news.admin.net-abuse.sightings" and the only mention of "dscc.org" was in some messages sent last January from a third party. Therefore, I don't think that they are true spammers, but that some overzealous staffer must have passed addresses on to them that shouldn't have been. I've never received anything from them, and I've given my address to other Democrat-related sites. Give them a chance and request removal from their list.

DT

[Miss Betsy]

IMHO, Steven should persist in notifying them (and their ISP) that his address was added against his express permission and that if others were added, that they are probably being deleted as spam since most people who do not report, JHD, without even looking at it, anything that they are not expecting.

There is no excuse for ignorance and overzealousness concerning email addresses - particularly with organizations who are trying to reach legitimate voters/donors. They are encouraging phishers and scammers who use 'legitimate' or legitimate-sounding organizations to suck people in. It is unconscionable online behavior.

Perhaps forum members should register their opinions with their comment box.

Miss Betsy