Using 42ads.com as an example, we’ll take a brief look at the question: How to establish trustworthiness as an ad broker?

By sending two mails almost at the same time for the same domain (this here, cimddwc.net) from different servers (one of which sent automatically ba phpmailer, according to the header), one to my main mail address on the ag1.de domain which wasn’t published there for year – however, ag1.de redirects to cimddwc.net since a few months ago –, the other mail directly to the address published here?

By addressing the recipient impersonally with “Dear administrator” or “Dear webmaster”? (Note: The mails were in German, so these are all my translations.)

By giving one of the mails a message ID of another domain (www.to-promote.net) which contains a site titled “Newsletter Marketing Promotions” and mentions as one of the important items “Establish Trustworthiness”, however remaining completely anonymous, not even giving a single name?

By hiding all domains involved in sending the mails behind privacy hosters or just storing the server hoster’s contact address in the Whois record?

By giving both mails almost the same (though slightly different) text which only superficially speaks about “renowned corporations” which alledgedly are “interested in quality online adverts” (as if these would really place ads via spam) – and ends with these words (again, my translation) which are not quite untypical for spammers:

P.S.: In order to receive no further offers from us, please simply reply with an empty e-mail. We will remove you from our list immediately.

Maybe (in addition to having the addresses confirmed) in order to allow an automatic processing without costing the “valuable” time of a human “ad consultant”?

Well, dear ad consultant in the Business Development Department of 42ads.com – you were saying:

I would be very glad to hear from you soon.

You could this way, if you’d really take the trouble and visit the websites you’re sending mails…

In this English forum, there’s one person reporting they wanted to place ads for gambling sites. And “Unser täglich Spam” (German; “our daily spam”) already commented on this “offer”, too, ending with the words (my translation):

If you’re engaging in a deal with people like these, it’s your own fault.

Original photo: zeafonso / sxc