27 Sep Scammers, Email Bombers, Desperate Marketers, etc.
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A couple of years ago, I was on the Pirate Broadcast with Russ Johns. One of the things we talked about was how email used to be exciting but then it turned into a cesspool of spam. I remember he said something like, “Marketers ruin everything.” LOL. Touché.
On September 8th, I published the podcast episode, “🔮 Prediction Alert: We Will See More Rip-Off Artists.” Unfortunately, it’s already happening. The number of scammy, spammy, and just generally desperate marketing emails I receive on a daily basis has exploded. It was bad before, but it’s REALLY bad now. And it spans the gamut: health care/Medicare scams, offers for hiring help, corporate bowling leagues, corporate socks, business development, social media managers, pay-to-play pitches for media exposure, office furniture, etc. Like, I’m literally not going to buy any of this so plz go awaaaaay.
Another facet of this are “scam frameworks” around finding a side hustle. Almost like “pick a card, any card.” It doesn’t even feel intentional or remotely strategic. “Oh, I just wanna make fast, easy money. I don’t really care about the work.” How well do you think that’s going to go? Because that market is there, drumroll please, there are con artists popping up around it. Get rich quick schemes, pyramid schemes, etc. “Buy my course for $xxx and I’ll show you how to make a bazillion dollar side hustle today!” Sure, pal. Sure.
Here’s the thing: if the economy was truly not in a recession and there were truly 2 legitimate open jobs for every 1 unemployed person, would we be seeing this type of behavior? I don’t think so. Of course there will always be scammers. There will always be goofballs selling promises of fast cash… as long as you pony up the initial investment. That’s nothing new.
For me the increase in both the overall volume as well as the overall tone of desperation is telling.
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