Grr - Why Are Obama and McCain Spamming ME???

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Every day. Every darn day.

These two jokers are sending me email about their dumb campaign nonsense at least once every single day. I got TWO from McCain today (actually, one from McCain and one from his new VP choice). I got one from Obama today too.

Now here is why this is really, really stupid:

1. I live in Canada. I cannot vote for either of these jokers (nor would I if I could). There are a tiny number of Americans and dual citizens who COULD vote, but does that mean you spam everybody in Canada too?

2. They send their dumb emails to my personal email address, at my CANADIAN-ONLY ISP. Yep, no chance of American residents in the list - the local ISP only serves a few parts of Western Canada. I only use this email for friends. It is obvious they are using some sort of automated email spamming tool, as the "To" header includes lots of similar addresses to mine, including trying myname+1, myname+2 etc. (which probably bounce, as my name isn't that common).

3. They have NO opt-out option in their email. Why doesn't their for-profit email (c'mon, they plan to make lots of money if they get to the Whitehouse, just like any other thieving politician) fall under CANSPAM regulations??

I report their emails as SPAM. My stupid email provider still seems to allow them through to me, even though I religiously hit the spam button on each and every instance.

Am I going to have to wait until Nov. for this to stop? It is really starting to irk me.

Regards, Georgetta
  • Profile picture of the author valerieSONORA
    How did you get on their list?
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgettaSterling
      I don't have the slightest idea how I got on their list. Like I said, when I look at the "To:" list (at least what is visible) there are a ton of addresses, including mine. The addresses are all similar alphabetically to mine, and in addition to mine, there are variations of my address (just like the viagra spammers use).

      For example:

      JohnJacobJingleHeimerSchmidt@isp.net
      JohnJacobJingleHeimerSchmidt1@isp.net
      JohnJacobJingleHeimerSchmidt2@isp.net

      Now, it isn't that likely that there are 2 or 3 people with such a weird name...so it is like a fishing expedition, looking for valid email addresses.

      Or maybe one of my "friends" decided to submit my addy to these clowns - I don't know for sure.

      Still irritates the heck out of me. And like I say, based on the visible parts of the "To:" info, they are emailing at least 30 other people all at my ISP. Probably a heck of a lot more. Substitute "penis enlargement" for "economic platform" and it would be just like regular spam.

      Best Regards, Georgetta
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      • Profile picture of the author Ephrils
        Just sign them up for newsletters they'll never read and/or auto-forward the messages back to them. They'll get annoyed eventually.
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        Two Signature lines for rent.

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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          These are spammers just looking for live emails. Don't respond to them.
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          • Profile picture of the author GeorgettaSterling
            Paul, are you saying that these emails are NOT coming from the McCain/Obama camps, but rather from professional spammers PRETENDING to be McCain and/or Obama? And fishing for email addys?

            They sure look real enough - html, campaign talk, links to their websites, youtube links etc.

            I didn't get any today (maybe my ISP is finally blocking them after 10 or 15 spam reports from me). I will look more closely at the next ones that sneak through.

            Best Regards, Georgetta
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            • Profile picture of the author RobinSkeen
              Originally Posted by GeorgettaSterling View Post

              Paul, are you saying that these emails are NOT coming from the McCain/Obama camps, but rather from professional spammers PRETENDING to be McCain and/or Obama? And fishing for email addys?

              That's exactly what it sounds like Georgetta. If you click in any of the links in the e-mail (don't of course) they know they have a live one and then the real crap will start rolling in. I can't imagine either campaign spamming like that. I don't like politicians either, but that would not be a good thing for their reputation.
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              • Profile picture of the author GeorgettaSterling
                Well I got another one today - this one from McCain and Palin. The links all lead to gop.com. It definitely looks legit to me. This time I found an "unsubscribe" button, and after going to the link using MS Internet Explorer (Firefox wouldn't load the page for some reason) I was finally able to unsubscribe.

                So - one down, one to go...assuming they honor "unsub" requests. The ones I got from Obama didn't have unsub buttons...but we will see.

                Thanks again everybody for your insights.

                Best Regards, Georgetta
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