Spam or Genuine email request?

ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 09:04
Last edited 14/04/2011 - 14:41

I manage the website for my sporting association and as such I get emails to the webmaster address of that association..
I received this email which smells of SPAM, but even to my cynical nose, makes me feel a bit guilty.. So my question is:
Is this the best written spam ever or genuine mail?
The first email I received,

Hi,

I'm Tracy and I work for PokerJunkie.com - a well-established guide to
online poker games.

I am in search for an interesting and a good resource that is related to
ours when I ran across yours, sa.korfball.org.au. I have a proposal I would
like to discuss with you which will be beneficial for both our sites.

Does this sound like a good idea? Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Tracy Larson

and the second email,

Tracy - to webmaster

Hi,

My name is Tracy and I have written you a couple of times but without a
reply. I work with business relations for poker news guide PokerJunkie and
we are currently working on spreading the word about PokerJunkie also
outside of the card game segment, hence our interest in
sa.korfball.org.au.

I think your site is highly interesting from this perspective and we would
love to get some coverage on it.

Please get back to me when you find the time.

Kind regards,
Tracy Larson

(Bold and italic emphasis added)

The bit bolded really makes me want to reply, if only to say, "no thanks, not interested"… but I don't want to in case I validate the address as active.

General Discussion

Comments

  • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 09:07

    Grrr! Markdown is not working…

    EDIT.. had to use markers for each paragraph.. is that normal?

    • scotty on 14/04/2011 - 09:51

      I think some of the text-level markups (bold, italic, etc) does not work across the paragraph. Also if you are quoting something, it is best to use the quote markup, i.e. Putting a > (greater sign) at the beginning of the paragraph.

  • kinglaiho on 14/04/2011 - 09:18

    It looks legit. I would reply as though it is, but be wary of giving up any personal information. If she wants to talk further, suggest phone or meeting in person (if possible).

    also: from their disclaimer http://www.pokerjunkie.com/disclaimer.html

    the contact email is: [email protected]

    Is she contacting you from a @pokerjunkie.com address? Because the site itself looks legit. If it's not, that's a HEAP of work for a scam.

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 14:43

      Yeah, the reply to and sent from addresses are both @pokerjunkie

  • scotty on 14/04/2011 - 09:58

    Does your korf ball site has anything to do with poker?

    I am a web master with a few sites, and especially with OzBargain which covers wide range of topics, I am getting those emails all the time. They are likely automated. Once you received a few, you'll find that they all look the same, and yes I have received emails "following up" on non-replies.

    Usually I just junk it or report them as spams.

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 14:49

      I think our site might have been flagged as a good target because one of the affiliated clubs to the association has run a fundraising poker night and promoted the event on the website for the past 2 years.

      I'm impressed by the professionalism of this one. I guess because it's such a fringe sport I don't get a lot of email to the webmaster address which is a "catch-all" address, but having said that, everything goes through the Gmail spam filter which probably helps a lot too.

  • llama on 14/04/2011 - 10:28
    +2

    It make absolutely NO difference if the business is "real" or not.

    ALL unsolicited (un-requested) email is spam. And spam is against the law in Australia.

    Delete it and block the address. NO… report it to the ACMA and then delete it.

    http://www.acma.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WEB/STANDARD/1001/pc=P…

    • perkinma on 14/04/2011 - 12:21

      Actually will ACMA help given that recipient is part of a sports club - ie does ACMA only help individuals / consumers? Can a business spam other businesses? Genuine question - couldn't find a clear answer on the ACMA link above.

      Reason I ask is because I think the Do Not Call register is individuals only.

      Maybe if it is a not-for-profit club ACMA will still help regardless.

      • llama on 14/04/2011 - 15:40

        I doubt that Do Not Call register has got anything to do with spam.

        As far as I am aware, spam is spam irrespective of who it's addressed to.

        • perkinma on 14/04/2011 - 17:23

          The reason I mentioned the Do Not Call register is because it is also managed by ACMA and relates to 'unsolicited contact' (albeit contact by phone but otherwise similar to spam). It is certainly for individuals only, not businesses. But other than the ACMA cross-reference, yes is otherwise unrelated to the OP.

  • StewBalls on 14/04/2011 - 10:45

    It just looks like the spambots are getting a little better scripted to me, but still very generic though.

    Yeah, definitely looks like spam to me!

  • perkinma on 14/04/2011 - 10:47

    Scam or not, my rule of thumb is that if the writers of these emails can't at least put a basic level of personalisation to it then they should just be flat out ignored. You could replace your website address above with literally any website address in the world and the message would still make just as much (or little) sense.

    Why is your site interesting to them? How will it be beneficial to you? These are basic facts that should have been included if they really wanted a genuine response.

    Ignore it and don't feel guilty.

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 14:46

      I plan to ignore it, but I "like" the wording..
      When I say like, I mean, I like the psychology that's being used. All of a sudden I feel like I'm being rude by not replying.

      I think our site might have been flagged as a good target because one of the affiliated clubs to the association has run a fundraising poker night and promoted the event on the website for the past 2 years.

      • retiredfeline on 14/04/2011 - 14:53

        Also the use of a woman's name by the spambot. You have to admit, it wouldn't work so well if it were Dwayne, or even Jane.

        • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 14:58

          Very true…

  • retiredfeline on 14/04/2011 - 11:05

    I got spam on one mailbox asking me if I wanted to be entered into a 2011 Important People yearbook or something. After getting no reply, the spambot would tell me that the deadline had passed but I could still squeeze in. Haven't heard from it for a while but I suppose it will "invite" me to be on the 2012 edition next time.

  • Davo1111 on 14/04/2011 - 12:03
    +1

    who would refer to you as "sa.korfball.org.au" in an email. Any normal person would say "your korfball club" etc

    spam.

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 14:59

      I guess you have a bit of a point… I didn't think that stood out all that much.

  • issh on 14/04/2011 - 12:08

    spam

    just ignore these

  • Brooklyn99 on 14/04/2011 - 12:49

    I would think that if "she" was really interested in some form of cooperation, she would have left her contact number for you to call her back rather than reply back in an email.

    And I would definitely not be interested in helping someone who seems to be demanding (her bold lettering) for a response.

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 15:00

      It's my bold lettering..
      I did add this footnote "(Bold and italic emphasis added)" to try and make that clear.

      • Brooklyn99 on 14/04/2011 - 15:36

        Well, if she honestly wanted to get in touch, you have more then sufficient contact details on your "Contact Us" page. Whilst her site has absolutely nothing.

  • llama on 14/04/2011 - 15:34

    The good thing about owning your own domain and having access to control panel etc is the ease and speed that these can be filtered straight to trash at a server level.

    BTW - they probably get the email address from the Whois records. I get a degree of spam on all my domains where I used real contact details. Now days I use Domain Privacy so that I don't get any spam of that kind.

  • pianissimo on 14/04/2011 - 16:11

    Thanks to this thread, I've now heard of korfball.

    An example of the educational benefits of OzB, or subtle marketing by the OP? ;-)

    • ESEMCE on 14/04/2011 - 16:28

      Definitely subtle marketing.. :D
      Come out and play (if you live in SA and more specifically Adelaide)

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