Spam source explained...maybe

[whistle]

Advice from Snopes.com

1) Any time you see an E-Mail that says forward this on to '10' of your friends sign this petition, or you'll get bad luck, or whatever, it has either an E-Mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and E-Mails of those folks you forward.
The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' E-Mails to use in SPAM E-Mails, or sell to others that do.

2) Almost all E-Mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards.
All it was, and all any of this type of E-Mail is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and spammers - -
to validate active E-Mail accounts for their own purposes.


You can do your friends and family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam E-Mails in the future!

If you have been sending out (FORWARDING) the above kinds of E-Mail, now you know why you get so much SPAM!

Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those type listings
regardless how inviting they might sound!

You think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT
in the long run. Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later in life!

Also: E-Mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization.
To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition.

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Snopes is your friend

And says: False!

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/false.asp

[anigbrowl]

2. Ha! XD

[nebenaube]

4. What is snopes god or what?

This method has been used since the advent of html mail. Ever heard of a webbug?

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I've always assumed it was aliens.