The second purpose is slightly less well-known: It helps spammers find out which email addresses are still active. There are millions of addresses out there whose owners have stopped using them for whatever reason, and they are therefore of no use to spammers. Any response to this message, whether a quick 'Fuck you' or an 'Oh my, Roger, that's terrible. How can I help?' shows the spammers that the email address is still in use. So, regardless of your desire to tell these people where to stick it, you should really just ignore the message as you would one that's offering you 80% off Levitra.
This particular email is relatively well-crafted, however it's clear that it's both a scam and written by someone for whom English is a second language. The slight sense of urgency it engenders might cause some people to respond without thinking; mainly the elderly, unfortunately, but not exclusively.
Hello,
I am sorry for reaching you rather too late due to the situation of things right now.My family and I had a trip visiting Manila Philippines,everything was going on fine until last night when we got attacked by some unknown gunmen. All our money,phones and credit cards was stolen away including some valuable items, It was a terrible experience but the good thing is that they didn't hurt anyone or made away with our passports.
We have reported the incident to the local authorities and the consulate but their response was too casual, we were ask to come back in 2 weeks time for investigations to be made proper,But the truth is we can't wait till then as we have just got our return flight booked and is leaving in few hours from now but presently having problems sorting out our bills here and also getting a cab down to the airport,Right now we're financially strapped due to the unexpected robbery attack, Wondering if you can help us with a quick loan to sort out our bills and get back home.All we need is (3,100 USD), I promise to refund you in full as soon as I return hopefully tomorrow or next. write back now to let me know what you can do.
Thank You.
Roger.
