This slightly old article from Wired News discusses the successes of spammers, explaining why it probably won’t go away anytime soon. I particularly loved the list of the types of people who ordered penis-enlargement pills off the internet:
Among the people who responded in July to Amazing’s spam, which bore the subject line, “Make your penis HUGE,” was the manager of a $6 billion mutual fund, who ordered two bottles of Pinacle to be shipped to his Park Avenue office in New York City. A restaurateur in Boulder, Colorado, requested four bottles. The president of a California firm that sells airplane parts and is active in the local Rotary Club gave out his American Express card number to pay for six bottles, or $300 worth, of Pinacle. The coach of an elementary school lacrosse club in Pennsylvania ordered four bottles of the pills.
Apparently, income and success don’t preclude stupidity. [via PCJM]