>List Mail User wrote:
>>> winterizewithscotts.com
>>>
>>> Scott's lawncare registered user updates.
>>>
>>>
>> Matt,
>>
>> winterizewithscotts.com looks like a case of "affiliate" spamming or
>> misuse of "sweepstakes" entries.
>> See:
>> http://forums.gottadeal.com/archive/index.php/t-14640.html
>> http://forums.gottadeal.com/archive/index.php/t-13473.html
>> http://www.acohardware.com/673.html
>>
>
>One problem Paul.. There's no ID associated with any of the links in
>those articles. There's no way for those articles to be useful spam, as
>there's no way to track back who the affiliate was, so there's no
>benefit to the affiliate. (unless of course they happen to own a
>hardware store that sells fertilizers.)
>
>
>I sincerely doubt your theory, at least with the evidence presented. If
>you can find a link to winterizewithscotts that's got some kind of
>affiliate tracker, I might believe you.
>
>Also, I'll point out a google-groups search for this domain name returns
>0 hits. Therefore, no NANAS or NANAE reports.
>
>http://groups.google.com/groups?q=winterizewithscotts&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&safe=off&filter=0&sa=N&tab=wg
>
>If this was being spammed by an affiliate abuser, there'd be more
>evidence of it than a couple of posts about it on forums and hardware
>store websites with no affiliate-tracker.
>
>
In each case, normal HTML gives a "referrer" page, so no affiliate
ID is needed. Also, while some of those links will *still* take you to a
"sweepstakes" page, the site winterizewithscotts.com has a simple page
which note that the "promotion" is over (!) and a link to the main "Scotts"
page. Clearly, this page had better not be the method for communicating
with registered users, unless Scotts has just dropped all "support".
I suggest you look at the three pages:
http://www.winterizewithscotts.com/
http://www.winterizewithscotts.com/index.tbapp?page=intro
and read
http://www.acohardware.com/673.html
The last of which is indeed a hardware store chain that *does* sell
Scotts' fertilizers - exactly as you suggest is possible!
Then check the link:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=acohardware&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&safe=off&filter=0&sa=N&tab=wg
2 NANAS
Which doesn't show acohardware.com spamming itself, but does show
it being forged by zombie Cialis spammers (looks like Yambo or maybe Mankani),
which could easily lead someone to visit their page and sign up for the now
ended Scotts' promotion as I had posited.
Paul Shupak
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
