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Posted to users@spamassassin.apache.org by John Hardin <jh...@impsec.org> on 2012/06/22 21:13:51 UTC
419 spammers aren't morons after all
Not sure if everybody's seen this yet:
http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/167719/WhyFromNigeria.pdf
Some discussion here:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/06/far-fetched_sca.html
--
John Hardin KA7OHZ http://www.impsec.org/~jhardin/
jhardin@impsec.org FALaholic #11174 pgpk -a jhardin@impsec.org
key: 0xB8732E79 -- 2D8C 34F4 6411 F507 136C AF76 D822 E6E6 B873 2E79
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Ignorance doesn't make stuff not exist. -- Bucky Katt
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12 days until the 236th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
R: 419 spammers aren't morons after all
Posted by Giampaolo Tomassoni <gi...@tomassoni.biz>.
> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: jdow [mailto:jdow@earthlink.net]
> Inviato: sabato 23 giugno 2012 0.15
> A: users@spamassassin.apache.org
> Cc: Kevin A. McGrail; John Hardin
> Oggetto: Re: 419 spammers aren't morons after all
>
> They never performed the analysis we see in the Microsoft paper. They
> simply evolved into a strategy that works. They are also continually
> refining it through this evolution process.
>
> {^_^}
I agree with you. The MS paper says how it works. It is not meant to say why
scammers got to work that way.
Giampaolo
Re: 419 spammers aren't morons after all
Posted by jdow <jd...@earthlink.net>.
On 2012/06/22 14:23, Kevin A. McGrail wrote:
> On 6/22/2012 3:13 PM, John Hardin wrote:
>>
>> Not sure if everybody's seen this yet:
>>
>> http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/167719/WhyFromNigeria.pdf
>>
>> Some discussion here:
>>
>> http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/06/far-fetched_sca.html
>>
>>
> It's certainly interesting but it's a hard document to swallow. They
> purposefully try and make their pool lower by making the scam so stupid that
> anyone who falls for it is clearly a good mark?
>
> My anecdotal research combines more with low-paid labor who simply follow what
> has worked combined with massive inequities in scales of economy that I don't
> see well reflected in this research.
>
> Regards,
> KAM
Nigerian spam is an industry in Nigeria (and other places, I presume.)
It is all little operators. These operators spit out their spams. The
ones who hit the right formula survive and teach the next generation.
The others fail. We have a genetic algorithm in action.
They never performed the analysis we see in the Microsoft paper. They
simply evolved into a strategy that works. They are also continually
refining it through this evolution process.
{^_^}
Re: 419 spammers aren't morons after all
Posted by Dave Warren <li...@hireahit.com>.
On 6/22/2012 2:23 PM, Kevin A. McGrail wrote:
> It's certainly interesting but it's a hard document to swallow. They
> purposefully try and make their pool lower by making the scam so
> stupid that anyone who falls for it is clearly a good mark?
>
> My anecdotal research combines more with low-paid labor who simply
> follow what has worked combined with massive inequities in scales of
> economy that I don't see well reflected in this research.
There is at least some logic to the underlying concept, although I doubt
they sat down and thought about it, I suspect that they threw 100 types
of poop at the wall, picked the 3 that stuck best and kept flinging them.
Put another way, the ones that figure it out half way through probably
cost the actual scammer far more than throwing out 10x-100x attempts
targetting only the dumbest of the dumb.
--
Dave Warren
http://www.hireahit.com/
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/davejwarren
Re: 419 spammers aren't morons after all
Posted by "Kevin A. McGrail" <KM...@PCCC.com>.
On 6/22/2012 3:13 PM, John Hardin wrote:
>
> Not sure if everybody's seen this yet:
>
> http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/167719/WhyFromNigeria.pdf
>
> Some discussion here:
>
> http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/06/far-fetched_sca.html
>
>
It's certainly interesting but it's a hard document to swallow. They
purposefully try and make their pool lower by making the scam so stupid
that anyone who falls for it is clearly a good mark?
My anecdotal research combines more with low-paid labor who simply
follow what has worked combined with massive inequities in scales of
economy that I don't see well reflected in this research.
Regards,
KAM