content free spam email messages

[TX50]

Hello,

Of late I've been receiving email messages that have nothing in the message body but some meaningless characters (e.g. one today contained only the string 3y). The subject line is often meaningless scramble too, or else is syntactically correct but still meaningless. The senders' addresses lead me to believe that they may be hacked accounts. The messages have no attachments and no invitations to click links or whatever. What would be the intention of sending such messages?

 

[Dancing David]

Hmmm....

http://www.ironport.com/company/pp_wsj_08-02-2006.html

 

[ingoa]

I currently receive hundreds of spam mails that contain NOTHING. If I look at the source code... It is empty. Nada. Rien.

Very strange.

 

[Arus808]

Actually, what could be happening is that whatever spam filter your ISP uses, is dumping the attachment to that email (sensing it as spam or it contained a malware type of attachment) and just sending the "blanK" message on to you.

Some spammers are only using attachments and keeping the body blank, hoping that you run a software like Outlook/Outlook Express that would run things automatically (like some attachments)

 

[marplots]

It could be a way to validate email addresses. Anything that doesn't get sent back as undeliverable passes the test.

 

[TX50]

It could be a way to validate email addresses. Anything that doesn't get sent back as undeliverable passes the test.

This is what I rather suspected too, but I dunno for sure. So this means my email addy is now about to be sold on to more spammers?

 

[arthwollipot]

It could be a way to validate email addresses. Anything that doesn't get sent back as undeliverable passes the test.

This is it. It's a probe. The fact that you received it means you're on someone's 'probable' list. Reply to it and you're on the 'definite' list.

Most mail clients these days have heuristic spam filters. Mark it as spam (or junk) and train your client to recognise it. These days I receive very little spam that isn't autojunked - maybe one spam message every six to eight weeks or so.

 

[marplots]

Originally Posted by marplots
It could be a way to validate email addresses. Anything that doesn't get sent back as undeliverable passes the test.

This is what I rather suspected too, but I dunno for sure. So this means my email addy is now about to be sold on to more spammers?

I'm pretty sure this is what happens with my telephone. I get calls that have no content that tells other marketers that I am home and answering the phone.

 

[PadainFain]

Actually, what could be happening is that whatever spam filter your ISP uses, is dumping the attachment to that email (sensing it as spam or it contained a malware type of attachment) and just sending the "blanK" message on to you.

Some spammers are only using attachments and keeping the body blank, hoping that you run a software like Outlook/Outlook Express that would run things automatically (like some attachments)

Doesn't happen, speaking as an industry expert, unless the body had a virus and you had your virus settings to something very odd...

It could be a way to validate email addresses.

Exactly.

 

[PadainFain]

I'm pretty sure this is what happens with my telephone. I get calls that have no content that tells other marketers that I am home and answering the phone.

Actually that's just autodiallers that outpace the callcentre. It's lovely, you can swear at them endlessly, knowing that the calls will be recorded "for training and security purposes" while running up their bill.