Heads up on email spam targeting text link buyers

Don't click if it doesn't mention details specific to your site

[Rosalind]

Spammers have moved on from the usual, and now they are targeting webmasters.

I got an email offering to purchase text links from my website. When I searched the name, intending to discover a bit more about the person who wanted to buy links, and who they represent, I found a blog post alleging that this person was fake. Nothing in the body of the email other than the url was specific to my website.

Another worrying development is that I got this coming to an email address that has only ever been displayed online in the form of an image.

If you get a similar request, don't reply before doing a search.

[edited by: tedster at 1:17 am (utc) on Jan. 17, 2008]

[phranque]

are you sure that email address isn't available elsewhere, such as the whois database for domain ownership?

[Rosalind]

Yes. It's definitely not in the Whois, and I made a point of giving it out very cautiously. I have other emails I use for forums, newsletters, and other assorted junk that tends to attract spam.

[physics]

I've been getting these recently also.

[skipfactor]

got a few of these today