ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, was once considered a quite serious organisation. Not any more. Now, they send out monthly spam messages to harvested email addresses. It is pretty damn remarkable how an organisation that pretends to represent "computer professionals and researchers" can use spam. But they do. The messages do originate from the ACM, and I am far from the only victim.
I know it is supposed to be a bad idea to try to get off spammers' lists, but I thought I'd try with ACM. I therefore mailed them on the From address in the messages. And I mailed them again. And again. But they did not reply, but more identical spam messages arrived within a few weeks.
Finally, I contacted Lillian Israel, at the address lillian.israel@acm.org and asked her to call me. She actually did! The conversation that followed was quite absurd. She thought I complained because I already was a member, and called just to inform me that I wasn't and had to pay! The wording in my complaint message was unambigous, but Lillian apparently thought their spamvertized offer is so irresistible that I couldn't possibly want no more duplicates of it.
This is the message Lillian misunderstood:
From: Torbjorn Granlund <xxx@xxxx.xx> Subject: Repeated spam from acm.org To: lillian.israel@acm.org Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:57:31 +0100 Dear Lillian Israel, Unsolicited mass email is spam, even if sent by you or me. I get spam from acm about becoming a member, again and again and again. I know it is a bad idea in general to ask to be taken off spam lists, but I did ask acm many times. Just like with any spam, it didn't help. I am now finally reporting acm to spamhaus and other spam fighting organizations, sending them all spam messages acm has sent me. I have checked that the messages really come from you, and they surely do. They come from an IP number owned by you, and they suggest that I become a member and offers a free gift. You will not be able to reply to this message, since my company now blocks incoming mail from all your IP addresses. If you wish to discuss this matter, I suggest that you call me at +46707257092. Alternatively, use a gmail account to reply. Best Regards, Torbjörn Granlund
This is a sample ACM spam:
From: acm_mem6@acm.org Subject: An Invitation to Join ACM To: xxx@xxxx.xx Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:29:48 -0500 (EST) Reply-To: acm_mem6@acm.org Dear Colleague, We have an exciting offer for you to join ACM, including a complimentary gift, if you act today by visiting: http://www.acm.org/joinacm6 As a member of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, you will have access to a host of career-enhancing benefits including: - Substantial discounts to attend ACM SIG Conferences - Full access to more than 3,000 online courses from SkillSoft - Full access to 1,100 online books, including a large selection from Safari(R) featuring O'Reilly and many others - Access to ACM's new highly targeted Career & Job Center - ACM's newly re-launched flagship magazine "Communications of the ACM" - Full member access to the new "ACM Queue" website featuring online discussions with experts, blogs, video and audio content, and more - "TechNews" and "CareerNews" email digests - ACM's monthly electronic newsletter "MemberNet" - The ACM Guide to Computing Literature with over one million bibliographic citations - The option to subscribe to the full ACM Digital Library with unlimited access to all ACM journals, magazines, proceedings, and newsletters - The opportunity to share your knowledge by participating in ACM's MentorNet One-on-One partnership program - A free "acm.org" email forwarding address with high-quality Postini spam filtering All this and much more by joining at: http://www.acm.org/joinacm6 Join ACM today, receive a 15% discount, and you will receive a Free ACM Flip-Top World Calculator! Learn more, and join ACM at: http://www.acm.org/joinacm6 I hope you will take a moment to consider how valuable an ACM membership can be to your career! Sincerely, Lillian Israel Director of Membership ACM acmhelp@acm.org ACM Member Services Department 1-800-342-6626 (U.S. and Canada) 1-212-626-0500 (Global) P.S. If you are currently a member, please pass this information on to colleagues who aren't yet ACM members. ACM will never sell or rent your email address. ======================================= Email on record: xxx@xxxx.xx