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June 27, 2009

If you've ever read much about marketing, you've probably heard the expression "underpromise and overdeliver" as a way to impress customers with more than they thought they'd receive. I just saw a spam message that exercises a corollary to that old expression: "overpromise and deliver squat."

Here's the message:

Subject: You've received a greeting ecard

Good day.
You have received an eCard

To pick up your eCard, choose from any of the following options:
Click on the following link (or copy & paste it into your web browser):

http://[removed]view.com/

Your card will be aviailable for pick-up beginning for the next 30 days.
Please be sure to view your eCard before the days are up!

We hope you enjoy you eCard.

Thank You!

If you've been monitoring the spam business as long as I have, the first conclusion jump is that the destination URL is a drive-by malware installation web site. Seen it a gazillion times before.

But if you're an unsuspecting email user, you likely believe that there is an ecard from an unknown admirer at the end of that link. Oh, goody goody!

You click.

And what do you see? Why none other than the spam defender's worst nightmare:

So much for your secret admirer. Buy some fake Viagra instead.

I may not be the world's best businessperson, but I know enough not to aggravate your customers when they come through the door and make them feel like stupid asses for having entered.