What's with the spam email containing secret messages/codes?

[MDesigner]

My girlfriend got a spam mail and almost tossed it, but noticed white-on-white hidden text. It said "where can we meet" followed by a bunch of odd code:

43sP35k7f27788JqWy4O4f68D2Ckyjic

There's a lot of that in there. Anyone have any clue what this is?

 

[isasir]

Your girlfriend is a terrorist and Osama Bin Laden was sending her a message to meet him for coffee.

 

[MrBond]

I'd guess it's some sort of way to fool filters. I've always wondered myself though what exactly it was. I know it's put in there by the bulk mail program, because I got one the other day where the mailer had apparently failed, and in the subject there was (#randstring).

 

[MDesigner]

Well, say it's an anti-filter measure. Why would they generate random conversational phrases? Why not just send it statically as "hey how is work going for you?" Why the different codes and different sentences? My gf's officemate got a message too.. same spam mail, but different hidden content.

 

[Looney]

I don't get spam, but i see them on the newsgroup all the time... no idea what it is for.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: MDesigner
Well, say it's an anti-filter measure. Why would they generate random conversational phrases? Why not just send it statically as "hey how is work going for you?" Why the different codes and different sentences? My gf's officemate got a message too.. same spam mail, but different hidden content.

You can't filter out junk, BUT you can put a filter that blocks words like HOT TEEN PAY, etc....so it will sometimes get through.

Yahoo's e-mail is great for blocking 90% or more of spam out there.

 

I thought it was a hash of your email address or something so they know how to track you if you report them. I could be wrong.

I have been using the [l=Spambayes Outlook Add-in]http://starship.python.net/crew/mhammond/spambayes/[l] and went from 30 spams a day to zero.