Inside the SPAM Cartel: By Spammer-X [Paperback]

Reading 'Inside the Spam Cartel' (ITSC) is like watching a racing car crash; you're horrified to see it happen, but you can't take your eyes off it. ITSC exposes spam from the point of view of the 'enemy' -- a spammer who claims 'you need to be ruthless in this industry if you want to make any money at it' (p. 132). This book is an absolute must-read for anyone trying to combat spam, especially policy makers who think passing laws with clever names makes any difference.

ITSC's value derives from the authenticity of the author(s). I suspect that a lead author may have received assistance from contributors, all of whom are spammers, or in one case, a 'reformed-spammer-cum-system-administrator' (p. 320). Some parts of the book hint at a British author (see references to 'parliament' and 'headmasters') while others hint at a New Yorker (see stories of conversing with passers-by in the city, or buying expensive goods on 5th Avenue). ITSC pulls no punches and gives enough detail to make any semi-technically savvy user a future spammer. Just as the Anonymous author of 1997's 'Maximum Security' brought 'hacking' to the masses, Spammer-X brings spamming to a world that only sees spam in in-boxes, not the method by which spam is sent.

I found ITSC's discussion of tools and techniques enlightening. Readers will learn about programs to generate and transmit spam. They are advisted to host images at overseas 'bullet-proof' Web hosts. Spammer-X explains how to manipulate message content for maximum effect, how to receive referrals fees from sites selling products, and how to collect payment via sometimes shady means. The spam case studies in ch 11 were excellent, and the charts showing 'revenue vs. products sold' in ch 6 showed the author(s) treat spamming as a true business.

The only flaws I found involved rough copy-editing and reporting a bogus story involving RFID chips in US $20 bills. I was disturbed to hear spammers defend their need to break into servers to steal/trade/sell email addresses. I was also appalled by their practice of turning innocent home users into bot net participants and spam proxy servers as part of 'the perfect spam' (ch 11). Spamming of that sort is not an 'art form' which transmits 'masterpieces' (p. 369); it is the end result of illegal and destructive intrusions that prey on weaker elements of digital society. Marketing is fine; unauthorized access is wrong.

The author(s) barely mention the best way to mitigate spam (probably because it will work): changing the financial equation. Once users charge senders before accepting their mail (and then refunding legitimate senders), spamming will be too expensive. Until that micro-payment infrastructure is in place, I recommend we all read and heed Spammer-X's fascinating work.

In order to fight an enemy, you have to understand him. And in order to fight spam, you need to understand the mindset of the spammer. To do that, pick up a copy of Inside the SPAM Cartel by Spammer-X (Syngress).

Chapter List: Inside the Head of a Spammer; How Spam Works; Sending Spam; Your E-mail: Digital Gold; Creating the Message and Getting It Read; Spam Filters: Detection and Evasion; Spam Filters: Advanced Detection and Evasion; Phishing and Scam Spam; Spam and the Law; Analyzing Spam; The Real Cost of Spam; Statistics of Spam; The Future of Spam; FAQs of Spam; Closing Comments; Combating Spam with Exchange Server and Outlook; Index

This book is written from the first-person perspective of a spammer, and goes into great detail about the mentality and technology of spamming. Whether Spammer-X is a real person or not is irrelevant. The information is excellent and will definitely aid anyone who is responsible for combatting spam in an organization. He covers everything from how spammers make their money, how they hide their tracks, what technology they use to send out the mailings, and what techniques are used to prevent the money from being tracked. If you're trying to figure out where a spam email originates from, you'll learn how to read the headers to deduce what's real and what's not. It's definitely interesting to read about the whole spam process from a "spammer friendly" perspective. The argument could be made that this is a handbook on how to become a spammer, but it's also important to know what the "enemy" is up against. I think it has much more value in that way.

My only complaint with the book is that the editing process of the writing must have broken down somewhere here. There are a number of typos and grammatical errors in the book. If the book wasn't so interesting and useful, I'd probably mark it down a notch for that. But the value of the material can't be overlooked, so I'll award it the top rating on Amazon... 5 stars.

While I consider myself somewhat competent on the geek scale, this book was quite an eye opener as to how much I didn't realize went on from a technical standpoint. I'm reminded of that saying (I'm sure you heard it as a kid as well) that goes something like, "if you'd just focus that energy toward something constructive..." There is enough information in the book to get you started in the spam business, but I wouldn't worry about a new rash of spam as a result of this book. I doubt any of this couldn't be discovered googling around the internet.

While I hate spam as much as the next guy, I was surprised to find myself agreeing with some of the "pro-spam" points brought up in this book. (Don't worry, I quickly gave myself a few lashings...) There is also quite a bit of discussion about the CAN-SPAM act that effectively makes it pointless - especially for a "legit" spammer. (Yep, spam can be legit.)

Spam Cartel was very educational and gave me plenty of ideas as to how to keep my own spam filters up to speed. I also find myself examining the spam that does get through and understanding why. Knowledge is power - and this book is full of information. However, it does seem to get a little repetitive at time and the title is a bit of a misnomer - I would have gone with "Confessions of a Spammer" or something cliché like that. :)

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