Here Come The Spam Detectives

from the Spam-Spade dept

Following the technology trail to track down spammers is increasingly a dead end - especially when so much spam is now coming from zombie machines. However, it appears that plenty of folks with training in traditional detective, private investigation, and law enforcement work are getting into the spam detective game. They're helping both companies and government officials better track down spammers using the tricks of the trade that they used to use to track down escaped prisoners or random other criminals. The article notes that the way to track down spammers is always to follow the money - which also means that many of these spam detectives are actually buying the various products advertised through spam. This, of course, makes you wonder just how many "successful" spam sales are actually being done by those just trying to track down spammers. Still, these spam detectives claim they're getting better all the time, and while their efforts haven't resulted in a decrease in spam (or even a leveling off), they're confident that things are going to change shortly.