Did you get his latest home address? He had a P.O. Box at one time, or some address on Truchas Ave in ABQ. I was going to have a little fun with some bingo cards :-) > Well, as I said the other day, I'd traded voice mail msgs with Jeff Slaton. > Today we finally talked on the phone for about fifteen minutes. He is very > charming, personable, and professional on the phone. > > I acted like a newbie who has used the nets for a couple of emails and > had looked at Netscape a couple times. > > Following is a close to a transcription as I could get with scribbly notes. > All is his claims, comments, answers to questions. My comments in response > are in [ ]. > > He said that he sends the email to 6-8 million people. > He sends to 3 million addresses that he has in his own database, which > he continually updates, and are over 90 percent good addresses. [that > explains the 'extra' personal copies of spams that I've seen] > > He sends to "all professional mailing lists", which means he sends a message > to "an electronic postmaster" and that sends it out to 1.5 million members > of the mailing lists. Some have as few as 50 members and some have over > 50,000 members. He also sends to 95,000 newsgroups or "electronic bulletin > boards for specific subjects", and they cover all kinds of professional > and hobby and recreational subjects. > > He charges $425 (U.S.) and will take personal checks (waits ten days to > clear) or money orders or certified checks. I asked about credit cards. > He said no credit cards because "even though I'm sure you're an honest > gentleman" that some folks aren't honest and try to cancel the charge > after he's already done the work for them. [What a surprise! Wonder why > they would do THAT? o-) ] > > I said that it sounded like $425 was pretty high for just sending a message > out. He said that he had developed "a vast amount of programming" and that > it takes him 8 hours to do it for you. > > I asked if he does it from his own computer. He answered that I have to > get a shell account with a local ISP and send him the money, the logon and > password to my Unix shell account, and an email telling him what he is to > send out. Then he does it "late at night when things aren't so busy, > usually between ten pm and 8 in the morning". > > He emphasized that I WOULD get responses, and that even 0.1 percent would > be 6,000 messages. He said he wasn't accountable for the response, but > that I WOULD get one, and that if I weren't satisfied with the response > he'd repost it to all the groups for me. [that would take someone REALLY > stupid] He also said that if I knew of any groups that he missed, that > he'd send the message to them personally. > > I asked about sending it to just groups that might be more interested > in my product [which I didn't disclose to him "because my lawyer said I > shouldn't yet" (and also because I didn't think one up that quickly)]. > He said he could do that, but since it would take "lots more programming" > that he'd have to charge me for, and since I wouldn't get "as much > coverage to as many potential buyers" that he wouldn't recommend it and > no one had yet chosen that option. > > He says that my post, if he were to do one for me, would be his "108th > advertising message on the internet" and that "all of the other customers > have been very satisfied". He claims to have had repeat orders already. > > I asked how he got into this business. He said that he was in his 40's and > semi-retired from the corporate rat race. Now that he does this it is his > only job. > > On the phone he sounded like a VERY smooth used car salesman....very polished > and professional. Actually more like a junk bond salesman. Knew all the > right words, was able to explain things less technically when I sounded > particularly dumb. > > Please feel free to forward this to NetNews or whatever. > > And, since the "advertiser" has to get his/her own account, it looks > like figuring out the "pattern" to Slaton's obtaining accounts is no longer > relevant. At least theoretically, ALL internet users are now potential > spammers with Slaton's help. AND, it seems that he keeps his nose clean > with this new method...since _I_ would be the one in deep stuff with my > ISP for spamming, giving someone else access to my account, etc, and NOT > Slaton. In fact, I can't think of a thing anyone can get HIM for....which > is just what he wants. > > cyclops > > Dan Lester, Network Information Coordinator > Albertsons Library, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725 USA > [log in to unmask] http://cyclops.idbsu.edu/ > How can one fool make another wise? Kansas, "No One Together," 1979 >