It's great that you provide free email addresses to Catamaran sailors, but the scam artists have found you. I just received this spam from your server. I have included the header information so that you can verify that the sending IP addresses match up with your SMTP server.
Please stop the con artists from using your mail server.
Thanks,
Chris Miller
-----Original Message-----
Microsoft Mail Internet Headers Version 2.0
Received: from mail.catsailor.com ([206.251.189.37]) by mail.versatrans.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.1830);
Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:10:43 -0400
Received: (qmail 8334 invoked by uid 48); 21 Aug 2006 13:08:30 -0000
Cc: recipient list not shown: ;
Received: from 196.1.176.50 (proxying for 172.16.1.34, 172.16.0.77)
(SquirrelMail authenticated user buluzahmed2)
by mail.catsailor.com with HTTP;
Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:08:30 -0500 (CDT)
Message-ID:
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:08:30 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR ACCEPTANCE
From:
buluz ahmed
Reply-To: buluzahmed@1dot.net
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.5.1
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Return-Path: buluzahmed2@catsailor.com
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 21 Aug 2006 14:10:43.0118 (UTC) FILETIME=[96D0F4E0]
From: buluz ahmed [mailto]
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 9:09 AM
Subject: PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR ACCEPTANCE
DEAR FRIEND
I AM CONTACTING YOU HAVING CONSIDERED YOU HIGHLY
REPUTABLE AND CAPABLE OF ASSISTING MY GROUP, IN OUR
UNDERSTATED PRUDENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL, AFTER GOING
THROUGH THE IMPRESSIVE PROFILE OF YOUR OUTFIT.
I AM BULUZ AHMED, ESQ., A LEGAL ADVISER TO ONE MRS
NOYO ABIOLA, ONE OF THE NUMEROUS WIVES OF LATE CHIEF
M.K.O. ABIOLA, A NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS GURU
AND TOP POLITICIAN WHO WON A PRESIDENTAIL ELECTION,
BUT WAS DENIED MANDATE BY MILITARY DICTATORSHIP.
HE SUBSEQUENTLY DIED IN POLITICAL DETENTION.
PART OF HIS WILL WAS THE DEDICATION OF Thirty - FIVE
MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS, (U$D35,000,000.00=) TO
THE ONLY CHILD AND SON OF MRS NOYO ABIOLA.
THIS HAS BROUGHT SERIOUS MISUNDERSTANDINGS
AMONG OTHER WIVES AND RELATIONS OF THE LATE POLITICIAN.
THIS AMOUNT WAS SCRECTLY DEPOSITED WITH A TRUST
COMPANY IN EUROPE BY THE TESTATOR, FOR HIS KID SON,
WITH RELEVANT DOCUMENTS KEPT WITH THE KIDS MOTHER.
MY CHAMBERS AND MRS NOYO ABIOLA HAVE CONCLUDED
ARRANGEMENTS TO CONTRACT A TRUSTWORTHY AND VIABLE
FOREIGNER WHO WOULD ASSIST TO FACILIATE THE PROCCESSINGS
OF THIS AMOUNT INTO HIS COMPANY / PRIVATE ACCOUNT.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT HOWEVER THAT THE FOREIGNER WOULD
BE REQUIRED TO NEGOTIATE AND PURCHASE A VERY
COMFORTABLE RESIDENTIAL HOME IN HIS COUNTRY UPON
RECEIPT OF THE FUND, WHICH WOULD SERVE AS A SHELTER
FOR THE YOUNG BOY AND HIS MOTHER TO SETTLE DOWN FOR
LIFE, AS SOON AS THE KID COMPLETES HIS EDUCATION.
THE REST OF THE AMOUNT WOULD BE PUT INTO INVESTMENTS
ON BEHALF OF MRS NOYO ABIOLA AND SON. YOU WOULD BE
ADEQUATELY COMPENSATED FOR THIS GREAT ASSISTANCE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FAMILY IS VERY POPULAR AND THUS,
WE SHOULD MAINTAIN THE SECRECY OF THIS PROJECT TO AVOID
PROTEST FROM OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE COURSE OF PROCESSING
THIE FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PROPOSAL
ON THE ABOVE EMAIL{buluzahmed@1dot.net.com) ADDRESS
OR DIRECT MOBILE NO:234-80330-98427 SO THAT WE CAN
COMMENCE PROCESS OF THE
TRANSFER.
BEST REGARDS.
BULUZ AHMED, ESQ.
MANAGING PARTNER,
AHMED & CO, LEGAL PRACTIONERS
Oh great! <img src=
alt=
/>
What about all of OUR email addresses? They're stored on the CatSailor server aren't they? So can we expect a load of spam as a result?
No, your email is safe in our database. This guy registered with our Free Email Service.., anyone can and used that address to spam. No big deal. I deleted his service.
This is no different than someone spamming with yahoo.com, and other free email services.
Chill out! <img src=
alt=
/>
Rick
Rick,
Can you change your free service so that it's not as easy for the spammers to get email accounts? If you make having a membership on this forum a requirement, that would make it a bit harder.
thanks,
Chris Miller
I don't understand the phobia here. Spammers use all kinds of free email services. In all the years I have offered the email service, I have only heard of two such events.
Here is a few good samplings of email accounts that spam:
yahoo.com
comcast.net
netflash.net
boatus.com
geocities.com
cybermail.net
excite.com
gmail.com
googlemail.com
hotmail.com
linkshare.com
msn.com
netscape.net
prodigy.net
webdirect.net
Mary didn't seem to understand this entire thread. Just to go over it again, someone signed up for email to use the suffix of catsailor.com.
That allows them to send and receive email using that suffix. This has nothing to do with this Forum. People use free email all the time.., and most do not spam. Some do.
I know many emails I get have the Yahoo.com suffix. Also, I get a ton of spam (usually a few hundred a day.., due to my internet exposure) from Yahoo and all the others named above.
Most of those sites attempt to stop the spammers, but it has been pretty futile so far.
Same with our site, except I have had only two in our history.
As long as you are not the one getting spammed, what difference would it make to you what suffix a spammer is using? I should think none.
Just because this spammer (now deleted from free email) is using our suffix and email service, it does not get him any email addresses from anywhere on our site at all.., NONE, NADA!
Try it yourself. Register for the free email and just see how many email addresses you can glean from doing so. You will get NONE!
I hope this explains it better.
On Spam Mail, however, I hear a lot of folks really getting bent out of shape when they get a few. Best bet is to get a good mail program that sorts out the mail. I use Spam Killer in addition to what BellSouth.net and Verizon.com use. Pretty neat because I can choose the filters to kill by sender, suffix, name, country, or specific text in messages, i.e., in the body of their text, choose their URL, or phrases they seem to always use, the deliberate typos, etc.
Spam is here to stay.., we just have to find ways to put up with a little as possible.
Thanks for listening,
Rick
Thanks Rick,
I misunderstood about the free email service - in fact I didn't even know it was available. Stupidly I thought that someone had hacked your server to send spam emails as if they were from CatSailor. I then thought that if someone was able to do that then they could also find out forum user email addresses....Sorry for over reacting.
Right, additionally, we have made some changes to the email service so no one can email out batches as spammers do. Normal email volume is fine, but when big mailings try to go out they will be forbidden.
So, all is well in catsailor.com land. <img src=
alt=
/>
Rick
Actually on my catsailor dot com email address account I receive maybe 1 spam a month. Compared to my other accounts which get several a day, with filtering on!
(now if I could only open my account from another computer <img src=
alt=
/> )
Clayton
The best way to avoid spam is to never use your address to register for anything. Use a
junk
address for registrations - and just go there when you need to retrieve a registration link.
Rick
That is why I have a hotmail for the BS stuff and only give my personal one to friends. And just ignore the few that get through.
Doug
I should clarify - I don't mean not to register here or for a forum like this! I mean: don't use your catsailor.com addy to register to download something - or to register for a forum someplace that doesn't very clearly indicate they won't re-sell the data.
So, after I sent this nigerian businessman my confidential bank account and social security number, he never called back. What's up with that? Is the kid okay?
I will use the letter as proof of ability on the loan for that $35 million house. They should gladly accept it because the Nigerian businessman said I was of good reputation.
<img src=
alt=
/>
Latest Update on our Free Email Service:
We set our email server so that you cannot relay through it even if the user authenticates. We also installed isoqlog on the server so we can see who is sending and receiving most of the email.
It updates every hour. We can monitor it to see who the heavy senders are and get rid of the accounts if they are just spammers.
We found 3 accounts that were showing up as heavy senders. We checked the email going out and it was spam. We removed the accounts from the server and the spam has stopped.
Again, this has nothing to do with this Forum.
Rick
Rick - as a sysadmin who has to deal with a *lot* of spam complaints (~2500 users,
I feel your pain
.
Restricting relaying as you have is a great solution, if draconian. I'm sure it will help, and still urge users to not propagate/advertise their catsailor.com addresses. The more places one
registers
the address, the more places there are to
farm
them - obviously, giving the address to a known & trusted individual is not a problem.
Yes, this is definitely unrelated to the forum or using the forum!
registers
the address, the more places there are to
farm
them - obviously, giving the address to a known & trusted individual is not a problem.
Yes, this is definitely unrelated to the forum or using the forum!
It is very rare that I get any spam on my catsailor email. Its like you say, the fewer places you enter it, the less chance you have for spamming. I use mine for sailing related emails and it works great! Except today, I am getting an error and can't log in! <img src=
alt=
/>
Clayton
ONe of the services was not running. We rebooted it and you should have no problems now.
Rick