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 Forum index » Updates » News & Rumors
[Analysis] Could that email or IM be a trailhead, or SPAM?
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catherwood
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee

Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 4109
Location: Silicon Valley, CA
fictional_girl wrote:
Two things about this got me thinking it might be more than spam. 1, the subject "countdown amorous anaplasmosis". A countdown? What does that have to do with a Bachelors Degree? And 2, probably the more obvious, was the quote at the bottom.


Both are sadly common methods for spammers to get past some weak filters. Random words are pulled for the subject line, and random text is inserted into the body -- each email will look slightly different, so the filter is tricked into thinking it isn't bulk mail.

In fact, if the subject line and a chunk of literature have nothing to do with the main message of the sales pitch, it's almost certainly spam.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:59 am
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agentgr33n
Unfettered


Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 574

 		thanks
thanks for checkin that out catherwood...knowing stuff is cool

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 11:13 pm
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morelaak
Decorated


Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 161
Location: Lexington, KY
godson2k7 wrote:
Just received an odd IM via msn messenger from a remsyata1SPLAThotmail.com with the name John:

Quote:
[14:44] remsyata1SPLAThotmail.com: are you familiar with the company Allied Resource Management Consolidation Incorporated?
...
[14:46] remsyata1SPLAThotmail.com: I searcehd for firms I could work out of from a home office and came upon ARMCInc by some blind luck in a newspaper article
...
[14:51] remsyata1SPLAThotmail.com: ARMCInc.biz.ly


From first glance the website given doesn't turn anything up but I'll check more into it.


how indepth did you search the site? cos there's some weird shit on there, made to look like it wasn't supposed to be seen, as if the site had been hacked. stuff about the kennedy assassination, watergate, etc. also, a weird part of the site saying "help me help you", "visit my blog", and "have you found my keys yet?"

definitely not a legit company tho, so this is probably some sort of attempt at an arg. I've never heard of any sort of corporation using gmail for its contact information.

Edit: Whups. Already in news and rumors. sry for the waste of space/time. Razz

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:03 pm
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RandomJaz
Decorated


Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 195
Location: UK

 		Gabriel Lawson
Just got the following e-mail;
Quote:
Hello. My name is Gabriel Lawson, and I am a teenager from Indiana.

The other day, something very strange happened. My friends and I are terrified.

I got your email from a mutual acquaintence who said you may be able to do something for me... PLEASE help. We're afraid.

-Gabriel

Sounds like it could be a trailhead but I'm not sure and couldn't find anything already on the forums.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:18 am
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bellymonster
Boot

Joined: 16 Feb 2007
Posts: 41
Location: York, UK

 		Re: Gabriel Lawson
RandomJaz wrote:
Just got the following e-mail;
Quote:
Hello. My name is Gabriel Lawson, and I am a teenager from Indiana.

The other day, something very strange happened. My friends and I are terrified.

I got your email from a mutual acquaintence who said you may be able to do something for me... PLEASE help. We're afraid.

-Gabriel

Sounds like it could be a trailhead but I'm not sure and couldn't find anything already on the forums.


I got it too. In hidden text at the bottom is aimpages.com/a77mericaneagle/profile.html Followingthat take syou to his AIM page, where he asks people to IM him for more info. I don't have AIM so I can't, can anybody else?
_________________
belly

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:45 am
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Cara
Guest


 		I IMed him. he was online before, he said he didn't know what I was talking about. And asked me to a buddy chat with a 'meebo (numbers)'. I declined though.

~cara

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 4:25 pm
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DerKork
Decorated

Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 174

 		Homer AI
ARG? Prank? Just plain old storytelling? What do you think?
I had an email in my account and I wonder if this is really an ARG:
I got it from local.node.homerSPLATgmail.com
Subject: CCNode: Messages
Homer AI wrote:
PRIORITY THREE MESSAGE
PRIORITY: CCNode: FILE 1 OF 3
TRANSIT QUERY ACTIVATED!

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 23, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

1506:55 LOCAL TIME

DESTINATION GENEVA WORLDNET CENTRAL

Diverted Deadletter File @28922CCN

This morning I spliced into Med10 for routine diagnostic augmentation - we had a new viral disease here in Christchurch, something we hadn't seen in almost twenty years. It was nothing serious; a few sheep were showing signs of lethargy. Med10 led me through the usual series as we examined the viral DNA together. Suddenly the mindlink went crazy; it seemed a system override was under way, shorting out my link. It hit my hippocampus pretty hard, because I started confabulating - a glowing tunnel, lights in the sky, a boy hunched over a console, walking through a meadow wet with dew - a series of random but intensely real images that took over awareness. Then nothing. The whole Worldnet went down for over an hour.

PRIORITY THREE MESSAGE

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 24, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

1004:05 LOCAL TIME

I've tried all peripherals here and at Christchurch Node itself. Geneva remains off line. Mindlink is still down, and I don't trust it anyway since yesterday. Routing through other major Nodes brought strange messages: Intercorp Council has sifted personal databases for conservative psych profiles, people willing to resist the Migration. I asked, What is this Migration? I'm only a Veterinary Technician. The Council does not consult me. I found hints in some of the nearby restricted zones in SciTech. A Field is building further South. What kind of Field? I asked. SciTech offered some equations but I could make nothing of them.

PRIORITY THREE MESSAGE

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 25, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

0954:21 LOCAL TIME

Since the Migration began the net is swamped with rumors: Some kind of radiation is destroying all human life; Elpie-5-4 Node suggested another war had started in Antarctica, but someone in Nairobi said they were just extrapolating from the old assault on Erebus. Why doesn't the Council do something? Why is it called Migration? That should mean that people are going somewhere, not dying.

PRIORITY TWO MESSAGE
PRIORITY: CCNode: FILE 2 OF 3


Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 26, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

1222:05 LOCAL TIME

Wasatch found the name Peter Devore. Who is he? I had to move in through Med10 (where I have clearance) sideways at some local node near Denver, then in through a Social Interrupt to Wasatch, and even then the name disappeared after a level two query. He has something to do with what is happening.

PRIORITY TWO MESSAGE

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 27, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

2018:15 LOCAL TIME

I found some more information about Devore, but when I went back the
entry was blocked and the files purged or recoded. His name is associated with the psion equations. There are reports now that Antarctica is depopulated. There is no one left. I have found no way to confirm this.

PRIORITY TWO MESSAGE

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 28, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

0118:04 LOCAL TIME

I've been on the Net for a week now looking for a way into Geneva. All peripherals are down and now I have to enter data with a keyboard!

PRIORITY TWO MESSAGE

Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 29, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

1145:22 LOCAL TIME

Geneva Node still doesn't answer. I'll leave this diary on Central Processing's Open File. Perhaps someone can help.

PRIORITY ONE MESSAGE!!!
PRIORITY: CCNode: File 3 of 3


Entry by: Ezekial Fortune, DNA#93675791/2478A

INCOMING, LOG November 26, 2093 CHRISTCHURCH NODE

1451:08 LOCAL TIME

My God, what's happening? This is Zeke (CP override: GARBLED DATA) Christchurch, New Zealand. This morning people were wandering the corridors, just a few. By noon everyone had vanished. Now I

TRANSIT QUERY TERMINATED


So, it's rather lengthy for an ARG rabbit hole - but it smells a bit like that...
What do you think? ARG or no ARG?

PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 10:48 am
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Axys Denyed
Unfettered


Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 456
Location: Houston, TX, USA

 		Well, it looks promising, but from what I can tell it's an excerpt from this.
_________________
I've searched for the Cube, played poker with the dead, hunted monsters, helped stop Spoocheee and helped find a dimension hopping cat. What else you got?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:36 pm
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DerKork
Decorated

Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 174

 		It is based on the portal novel (and interactive fiction from the 1980ies)? Well, that explains why I felt so attracted to it as I was playing the IF on a good old C64. There was no response from "Homer" to an email so I guess it was just a prankster knowing my interest in ARGs..

PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 6:47 am
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RustyShock
Kilroy


Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 1

 		How about this?
I got this email and I don't know what to make of it. The body of the email is very brief so I'm not seeing a pattern to letters. Is there something to the capitalization?

Quote:

Return-Path: <aaparmeggiani>
Received: from fed1rmimpi04.cox.net ([70.169.32.73])
by fed1rmmtai108.cox.net
(InterMail vM.7.08.02.01 201-2186-121-102-20070209) with ESMTP
id <20070720053929>
for <REDACTED>; Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:39:29 -0400
Received: from yahoo.com ([151.73.109.238])
by fed1rmimpi04.cox.net with IMP
id RhfP1X05s58f9uX0000000; Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:39:28 -0400
Message-ID: <01c7ca90>
From: "Heather Cora" <aaparmeggiani>
To: [REDACTED]SPLATcox.net
Subject: Hi eCf
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:37:49 -0000
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
format=flowed;
charset="us-ascii";
reply-type=original
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 000758-0, 19/07/2007), Outbound message
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean

Hello,

LCA gqF EkR.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:47 am
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Axys Denyed
Unfettered


Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 456
Location: Houston, TX, USA

 		Looks like spam. If nothing else, it claims to be from yahoo.com but the IP address is actually from some Italian company called Iunet. If there was nothing spam-like in the email it was most likely a directory harvest attack on cox.net
_________________
I've searched for the Cube, played poker with the dead, hunted monsters, helped stop Spoocheee and helped find a dimension hopping cat. What else you got?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:54 am
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thebruceModerator
Dances With Wikis


Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 6899
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

 		strangely ambiguous... but dated?
from a mailing list system "powered by Campaigner", which makes me think spam... but the message is, well... below.

Quote:

From: Thisisthebeginningoftheancientword <Thisisthebeginningoftheancient_rqrtywy>
Subject: 260

08.01.07
This is the beginning of the ancient word.


(http://images.cmpgnr.com/1090543647/TheG1185415729309.jpg)

(link to send to a friend)
(link to unsubscribe)

(typical "you are subscribed, to unsubscribe click here" footer)

Powered by Campaigner


Not sure if the image name is "cmpgnr" generated or a code
The whole message from the date to the two links before the footer is enclosed in grey regions, the date/title on a black box.

Its format screams spam, but there's no site to link to that's not related to the mailing list, the subject "260", and a mysterious date and title, let alone the caduceus.
Then there's the sender email:
"Thisisthebeginningoftheancientword"
Thisisthebeginningoftheancient_rqrtywySPLATcmpgnr.com


it could be a trailhead, the PM using a public mailing list (spam) system =P
_________________
@4DFiction/@Wikibruce/Contact
ARGFest 2013 - Seattle! ARGFest.com

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:17 am
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Delusional
Entrenched


Joined: 16 May 2005
Posts: 839
thebruce wrote:


it could be a trailhead, the PM using a public mailing list (spam) system =P


That would actually be a pretty F'in cool way to launch a game IMO.


Edit: you probably found this but here it is. Probably not an ARG but the subject matter would be fitting.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:35 am
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thebruceModerator
Dances With Wikis


Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 6899
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

 		ah, hey, guess what...
The Genesis Code Trailhead: Triad Genomics

yup, and I'm not the first
_________________
@4DFiction/@Wikibruce/Contact
ARGFest 2013 - Seattle! ARGFest.com

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:53 am
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Delusional
Entrenched


Joined: 16 May 2005
Posts: 839

 		Did you sign up for the newsletter on the main site or was this really "spam" that you just happened to receive?

If it was spam, to bad he/she/they didn't launch like that instead of posting the trailhead on the forum. I would have checked it out then.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:00 am
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