Scamming Is One Thing, Playing On Someone’s Emotions Is Quite Another

Spam. We all know what it is and we all hate it. Today it’s so common place that we almost accept it as just part of the package that comes with e-mailing. We’ve become tolerant of it, almost immune to it. Regardless of all the hi-tech spam filters in place, plenty still trickles by. If you’re like me, you do a mass delete of these e-mails on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day. We can all agree that spam is a nuisance, but it’s also very time consuming to try to eliminate. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even try to block it anymore. I simply don’t have the time to be bothered by it so in the trash folder it goes. I’m rather shocked that spam still exists these days because I would think by now everyone has wised up to the fact that their penis isn’t going to grow an extra 5 inches overnight by buying a magical $60 pill. Buy yet, some idiot is still opening up these e-mails and visiting the sites that help fund the spammer. And how stupid do you have to be to actually believe that you are the winner of an Xbox 360 or an all expense paid trip to Honolulu, when you didn’t even enter any sweepstakes contests to begin with! Trust me, if you click on the link that says "redeem your prize", you will not be collecting any gift, lump sum of cash or a free vacation. Instead you have just signed yourself up on another hundred spam lists - congratulations! You’re a winner...er, I mean loser.

Spamming is essentially scamming. I understand everyone has to make a living and as much as I despise the manner in which a spammer makes his living, I can understand why he does it. Some spammers make big money with their shady practices. Spam irritates me, but it doesn’t anger me, until today. Spamming/scamming is one thing, playing on someone’s emotions is quite another. And in essence, that is exactly what this e-mail did...

Long time no see
my my look how you've grown :) its been like seriously prob. 5 years since we've talked so you prob. dont even remember me.. but mike from our middle school gave me your myspace profile.. anyhow I've moved outta state since then but wanted to get in touch with you.. you look amazing btw.. anyhow I only check my myspace account like once a month so if you wanna chat hit me up on my msn messenger when you get a chance my msn name is jane20princess@live.com

I wasn’t gullible enough to fall for this, but I’ll admit, it had me going for a split second and I’ll tell you why.

my my look how you've grown :)

First of all, nobody under the age of 50 would say something like that. That is a line a distant aunt says to me when she hasn’t seen me in 20 years. "Oh David, look how you’ve grown. I remember you when you were just knee high and now you’re all grown up and over 6 feet tall!" Supposedly, the person who sent this to me is a 22-year-old blonde, or at least portraying to be.

its been like seriously prob. 5 years since we've talked so you prob. dont even remember me...

Um, according to your photo, you’re hot. And because of your hotness, I can assure you that I would have not let 5 years go bye. I would remember you and I would have been in touch.

but mike from our middle school gave me your myspace profile...

Ok, now this is where you almost got me here. I know a couple Mikes, but the Mike I would guess you are talking about is the Mike that was my best friend growing up. We were inseparable! So much so that people often had mistaken us for brothers. And because he is no longer with us, you managed to pull at the old heart strings and make me feel hopeful and excited that you are possibly an old friend of his. You see, the timeline would fit. Michael killed himself roughly 5 years ago so it would be quite possible for this person to have been in touch with him just before his death. It would also make sense that she waited awhile before contacting one of his friends out of the blue to see how he is doing now, how he's healing.

anyhow I've moved outta state since then but wanted to get in touch with you...you look amazing btw...

I checked her profile and supposedly she lives in Newport Beach, CA which is just a short bike ride from my sister’s apartment. So there would be a chance my sister bumped into her or even I have at some point while in California. However, I don’t see the point of wanting to get in touch with me? If you live across the country, it’s not like we could really hangout or anything. So why bother with me in the first place?

anyhow I only check my myspace account like once a month so if you wanna chat hit me up on my msn messenger when you get a chance my msn name is jane20princess@live.com

Ah, yes. There you have it. The final obvious clue that she and her e-mail is total bullshit. Why does every MySpace spammer use that same line? Can’t they get a little more creative than that? I'm very tech-savvy and I can spot spam a mile away. I'm not a gullible guy, but yet she managed to have me going for a bit and I think that is simply because it played on my emotions...and in a very cruel way.

I would desperately love nothing more than to get in touch with a long lost friend of Michael’s, perhaps the only person who could possibly answer some of the lingering questions his family and I still have surrounding his suicide. It’s a connection I look for and part of the reason why I even signed up on MySpace and Facebook to begin with, in hopes that I can somehow reconnect with my best buddy in the form of those who were nearest and dearest to his heart. I know it sounds a little crazy and farfetched. I realize my chances of crossing paths with someone from his past are slim to none. Still, I keep a glimmer of hope alive that maybe, just maybe that person will find me or I’ll find them. Perhaps it’s not a healthy method of coping, but sometimes I don’t know what else to do.

5 years later and we are still searching for some comfort and closure on the whole situation. I’m sure this spammer didn’t realize one of their cookie cutter e-mails has the power to really hit home for someone. I’m sure this spammer didn’t intend to purposely bring up painful memories and tease me with this illusion that this is the person I’ve been searching for. The person who somehow was "sent by Michael" to help ease the pain of those who he left behind. The person who was going to be "his voice" in a sense and tell us the things he never could tell us himself. The connection of 3 childhood friends. Obviously, this was all just a delusion of mine. I wanted to believe so badly this person existed that I nearly fell for it. Today was going to be the big day that we connected, finally after all the waiting. To some this would be a typical spam e-mail, but to me, it has been anything but typical.

So I guess I’ll keep searching. And waiting. And hoping. And praying. That tomorrow may be the day. Because at this point, I refuse to accept the thought that the promise of tomorrow may never come.