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December 07, 2007

According to my list of server-deleted email, I must be the luckiest guy on the planet. I win so many online lotteries (despite having never entered) that I am an utter fool for slogging away daily on my computers and making mortgage payments.

Back in May, instead of deleting all my incoming spam, I captured one day's worth to gather in-the-wild examples for my Email Safety 101 course. On that particular day (chosen completely at random), I had won no fewer than three lotteries for a total of over four million currency units (dollars or euros).

Everyone reading this blog, of course, knows better. But there are still tons of email users out there who don't. Case in point: A Lebanese man was arrested recently for having allegedly scammed $10 million from lottery "winners." (The Register story here) Now there's a guy—until nabbed by police, that is—who really won the lottery.

Reaching potential victims of this and other scams is by far the most difficult task facing spam/scam fighters today. What are you doing to spread the word to those most at risk?