The e-mail was blatantly illegal.
The promotional, unsolicited message was sent to e-mail addresses stolen from various Web pages. It didn’t include the sender’s postal address. And it didn’t have the required “unsubscribe” link.
But the junk e-mail wasn’t pushing pornography, generic Viagra or some other dubious merchandise typically associated with spam. It was selling Dell computers. And the offers were real – anyone who clicked on the link went straight to Dell’s Web site.
The world’s largest maker of personal computers, sending out spam?
Yes and no.
Dell didn’t send the e-mail. But it was dealing with someone in Romania who had.
The spammer was an “affiliate” – an independent, online salesperson who uses his Web site or e-mail messages to steer customers to merchants. Affiliates collect a commission for each sale
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