Cover Your Assets

When is dealing with a spammer a bad idea? CYA-"Taxes for Creatives" Spammer

...Almost Always

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This is an example of why spammers make bad associations for your business. This is targetted directly to artists and the service offered seems simple enough, but legit companies don't resort to spam, and the more I looked into this the fishier it began to smell. Selling your art online, you should have little trouble tracking your income, and legit tax services abound without resorting to trusting a spammer.

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Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 06:31:48 -0600
Message-Id: <200701021231.l02CVmBT017059@mungehost.com>
To: mailform@munge.com
From: PeterCorrao@hotmail.com (Peter)
Subject: call
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Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
Peter (PeterCorrao@hotmail.com) on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 at 06:31:48
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

realname: Peter

subject: call

email: PeterCorrao@hotmail.com

comment: Important tax info for artists!

http://www.TaxesForCreatives.com

is a site that provides tax advice and
solutions to creative professionals such
as artists, designers, illustrators,
photographers, writers, etc. I've spent
over 20 years as a graphic designer
before I became a tax professional so I
know the problems that artists face when
tax time comes. I've learned how to take
advantage of every tax deduction that is
available to creative professionals and I
can help others legally reduce their tax
liability with the knowledge I’ve gained.

Please visit my site and if you have tax
questions or need help with your return,
send me an e-mail. And I would greatly
appreciate it if you would forward this
message to least three other creative
professionals and ask them to do the
same!

Most sincerely,
Peter Corrao
PeterCorrao@Hotmail.com



Submit: Send Your Comment

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REMOTE_ADDR: 68.107.133.47
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So what makes this spam and what makes it inherently suspect?
To start out, this was sent not from Pete himself but from someone in Atlanta Georgia. It wasn't sent to me as an offer directly to me, it was sent as an offer to anyone.
Then the registration info and website hosting get a bit fishy. The web hosting is being handled by ICDSoftware in Hong Kong, a child allocation of SAVVIS and one which appears on a hijacker blocklist I just happen to have downloaded this morning... So, he says he is in Tucson, Arizona, but his browser says he is in Atlanta and his website says he is in Hong Kong... Okay, maybe not that unusual for his webhost to be distant, but he has no permanent address listed either in his registry or on his contact page. Phone numbers can be forwarded through VoIP services so the actual location of his phone could be anywhere in the world and his PO Box could be a mail forwarding service... He could be ANYWHERE. In fact it might not even really be Pete. He doesn't offer any distinguishing references that bear out his actual identity or physical location. He could possibly be someone using Pete's name, from a cyber cafe halfway around the world. He has no E-Trust certificate, no digital signature, and his banner listing him as an authorized E-Filer doesn't seem to link to any sort of validation test nor is his site certified, verifiable, secure, or even hosted within the legal jurisdiction of the country he purports to service taxes in. His contact Email address is not through his own domain MX. That by itself might not be unusual at all. People use large freemail services to prevent having their boxes flooded with spam... sorta like this one. The point is, he hasn't even connected himself with his own email. He is an invisible person for all intents and purposes.

Could he be "just anyone" simply asking you directly for your trust, your SSN, your bank account info, personally identifying data? boldly, openly, just to steal your identity and rob you blind? Maybe, maybe not... He really hasn't done the work required to establish the type of trust he is requesting. I'd prefer to attribute this to ineptitude rather than malice, but I really don't want an idiot doing my taxes any more than a crook.

The lesson for the reader is that for extremely sensitive services, local brick and mortar businesses and proprietors with verifiable bonna fides are preferable to a semi-anonymous spammer.

The lesson for the spammer is, don't spam a spam site killer and if you must... have your ducks in a row and your certifications in order if you just can't help yourself.