Junk Mailers Harvesting Forum Posts

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 4 Dec 2006 3:32 pm

I received in the mail today FIVE credit card offers from Capital One. Each was addressed to The Steel Guitar Forum, Attn: (member's name), with my address.

That's right, these were addressed to five different Forum members at my address!.

I'm not accusing the members of wrong-doing, and I won't post their names because I'm sure that it's random. I figure that some spam-bot is finding Forum messages with these members names in the title, and the Forum address at the bottom, and figuring that it's a company employee page of some sort.

They say they're concerned about identity theft, but they are promoting it when they buy mailing lists from spammers. I called and got a guy in India who took the SGF off their "list", but there's no way to penetrate the underlying scam that's going on.

What's in YOUR wallet?

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<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/b0bxicon.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 
System Administrator 
My Blog<div style="display:none">

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 4 Dec 2006 3:49 pm

Several years ago my phone service got slammed---my long distance was changed to another company and everyone swore I had authorized it. I discovered it when I got the bill for a call that i had actually made but the bill was from a company I had no relationship with. I called the companies--my old company (for whom I had no love or loyalty) and the new company (who I despised because they were criminal frauds)---and was eventually informed that they subcontract their 'recruiting' out to third party companies and there were some issues with some of these entities. I told them quite clearly that yes, I made the calls in question but no, I did not make them with this new company and I would not, now or ever, be making out a check to these creeps who I held 100% responsible---if the old company sends me a bill I will pay it. They tried to argue with me but I told them to talk to the state's attorney general.
I never did get billed for the calls, I got changed back to the old company and I say screw them all.

Oh, the point of the story? It wouldn't surprise me if Capital One tries to claim "over-zealous third party companies are responsible". Screw 'em all.

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 4 Dec 2006 5:04 pm

My impression of "Crapitol One"'s advertising and marketing tactics is that they're pretty close to the lowest of the low. That's getting down there. IMO, they'll stoop to whatever they think they can get away with to push product. Pretty sleazy.

Archie Nicol R.I.P. · Post by **Archie Nicol R.I.P.** » 5 Dec 2006 4:15 am

They keep me supplied with pens.

Arch.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 5 Dec 2006 5:00 am

You gotta admit they were honest about their business practices when, in their advertisements, they claim to put barbarians out of business... They are the better barbarian?

Colm Chomicky · Post by **Colm Chomicky** » 5 Dec 2006 4:19 pm

Did the spam originate from a Capital One server, or a middleman. Or does the credit application link to a phishing site?

I would think it a tremedous liability for Capital One to knowingly harvest emails and spam. [This message was edited by Colm Chomicky on 05 December 2006 at 04:24 PM.]

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 5 Dec 2006 5:21 pm

These came in the mail. Not email. USPS "Presorted Standard".

Mark Edwards · Post by **Mark Edwards** » 6 Dec 2006 4:57 am

Bob my bride works for USPS and she told me that there is a form that be can be filled out, to stop unwanted and unsolicited mail/advertisements that is bogging down the postal service and clogging up our mail boxes. She stated it may take up to ten months to get everything squared away but it seems to be well worth it if you don't like getting all that crap in the mail.

As a sidebar I noticed in the trashcans at the post office are overbrimmingwith junk mail/advertisements. Talk about wasting paper, no wonder the forests are shrinking. Just food for thought.

Mark Vinbury · Post by **Mark Vinbury** » 6 Dec 2006 12:17 pm

I'm just thankful a lot of the "junk mail" is switching over to eMail.
It's a lot easier and less wasteful to ditch.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 6 Dec 2006 4:39 pm

My complaint isn't that I'm getting junk mail. My complaint is that Capital One is offering credit in my business's name to people who aren't employees of my business. It's an opportunity for fraud if these applications were to fall into the wrong hands.

By the way, another one came today.

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<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/b0bxicon.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 
System Administrator 
My Blog<div style="display:none">[This message was edited by b0b on 06 December 2006 at 04:40 PM.]