Who Responds to Spam?

Over the years, I have talked to several people in the spam-prevention industry. I almost always ask the same question. And the conversation almost always goes like this.

Me: Who are the people who respond to spam? Has anyone done any research on why they respond?

Spam-Prevention Rep: The spammers don't need many people to respond. At even well below 1% response rate, they make a profit.

M: Yes, I understand that. I'm not asking that question. I'm asking, who are the people who respond to the spam?

S: It doesn't matter, all the spammers need are a small percentage to respond and they make a profit.

M: Look, I'm not sure you understand the question. Do we know anything about the people who respond to spam? If we did, maybe we could do a better job of educating the public on spam so that fewer people will respond. Besides, I'm curious as to why people buy products from spammers.

S: I don't know how I can be any clearer, even if only a very small percentage of people respond, the spammers make a profit.

At first I was a little offended, did the rep really think I didn't know what they were telling me? Then I realized what was going on. The people in spam prevention did NOT know anything about the people who respond, and rather than simply say, "We don't know," they deflect the question. In my opinion they were being dishonest.

Finally, one day someone from the spam prevention industry said it, they don't know who responds, nobody has done any research on why people respond. He said that information might be helpful in crafting strategies to eliminate spam. I have a lot of respect for that guy.

How does one find the people who respond to spam? Ask the spammers? Well, here's a story about one spammer's customer list that saw the light of day. The problem is, this is an example of a data breach, the spammer had a security problem that allowed anyone to see the customer list. The first question should be, is it ethical to use that list? If you are not a thief, but just a researcher or reporter, is it ethical to use information that was supposed to be private? I say no.

Hence, we still don't have a list of people who respond to spam.

I think this would be a great project for a Sociology major, maybe even a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation. Advertise on the internet, find people who have responded, or people who know people who have responded to spam. Pay them some money to answer some questions. Then come up with some analysis, why do people respond to spam? Why do they click on the links and why do they buy the products advertised?

Although that would not test my theory: wiring in the brain. We're all wired differently, for some of us, certain activities are easier, or other activities provide more enjoyment. For example, here is an example of researchers looking at brain activities of gamblers to see if there are differences between those with gambling problems and those without.

That would be another great test, watch people's brains while they read spam. Maybe even ask them to click through. What happens in the brains of those who buy the spammers' products, and those who do not.