Magazine spammer FAQ (was RE: FAQ 16 / *STOP*...etc.)

[Doug Yanega]

>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Date:         Sat, 27 Jan 1996 18:27:15 -0700
>Reply-To: Robin Leech <robinl at NAIT.AB.CA>
>Sender: Biological Systematics Discussion List <TAXACOM at CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU>
>From: Robin Leech <robinl at NAIT.AB.CA>
>Subject:      FAQ 16 / *STOP*......... before you buy another over-priced USA
>              magazine at the store or by subscription! GET A WHOLE YEAR FREE!
>              (fwd)
>To: Multiple recipients of list TAXACOM <TAXACOM at CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU>
>
>How does/did this get into our system?  I thought we had this sort of
>thing purged?
>
>Ticked off, Robin Leech

No, this is the third time in recent history that "Krazy" Kevin Lipsitz has
targeted mailing lists. Essentially every list on the entire Net gets hit
every time he crawls out from under his rock, and he's adept at forging
moderator approval. Below I append a message from Jim Beach, from the LAST
time Kevin hit the list. The take-home message is there is nothing you/we
can do, but Kevin has made so many enemies on the Net, he should eventually
get his comeuppance.

>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 10:45:15 -0500
>From: Michal Hirschberger <michal16 at NETQUANDRY.NET>
>To: Multiple recipients of list ICZN-4 <ICZN-4 at cmsa.Berkeley.EDU>
>Subject: FAQ 16 / *STOP*......... before you buy another over-priced USA
>magazin
>e at the store or by subscription! GET A WHOLE YEAR FREE!
>
[snip]

This is a forged mailing address (in fact, it is a cute self-referential
trick, referring to the troubles he causes the Internet community), and a
false identity. Last week it was some female grad student from Korea or
some such. His real identity is

> >> >   Kevin Jay Lipsitz (KJL-DOM)
> >> >      PO Box 120990
> >> >      Staten Island NY  10312-0990
> >> >
> >> >      Domain Name: KJL.COM
> >> >
> >> >      Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
> >> >         Lipsitz, Kevin Jay  (KJL2)  krazykev at KJL.COM, krazykev at escape.com
> >> >         718-967-1234

But if you send mail to his address to complain, it mail-bombs you in
return. You might try the following provider, but they will likely ignore
complaints, since no one can *prove* the Spam originates there:

>Compucare, Inc. (CONNECT6-DOM)
>   2200 Clove Road
>   Staten Island, NY 10305
>
>   Domain Name: CONNECT2.COM
>
>   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
>      Laino, Steve  (SL266)  steve at PLANET.EARTHCOM.NET
>      718-720-4374

these folks have been serving as Kevin's link for some time, as has
escape.com, but escape.com ignores complaints about Kevin so you'd be
wasting your breath there. He's been at this for years, I doubt we'll ever
get him to stop. Note the following:

To: "James H. Beach" <jbeach at NSF.GOV>
From: dyanega at denr1.igis.uiuc.edu (Doug Yanega)
Subject: Re: *Important* info regarding Magazine Ad; where to complain
Cc:
Bcc:
X-Attachments:

>The Berkeley listserv software does a pretty good job at catching spams
>to Taxacom. I have deleted many that it intercepted which the list has
>not seen, In the end though, there is no way to automatically intercept
>spam messages when the sender has taken pains to outsmart the listserv
>filter by avoiding the conditions which activates the spam interceptor.

Right now, Kevin ranks close to #1 on the Net's "most wanted spammer" list.
Basically, DON'T try to complain to the forged address, and just hope that
eventually this guy will be stopped.
Sincerely,

Doug Yanega       Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA      phone (217) 244-6817, fax (217) 333-4949
 affiliate, Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Entomology
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82