Spam Self-Defense

Emails from self-proclaimed online marketing firms have been arriving in my inboxes at an ever increasing rate, sometimes multiple per day. They typically ask if I am available “at 1pm on Thursday” for a phone call.

Here is a full example.

Hi Christian, 
I found your company online and I think our approach to finding and generating new clients might work for you. Our solution combines calls, emails, Linkedin and Social Media to make targeted and timely touchpoints.
We'd like to confirm via a short consultative meeting which will give us enough information to come up with a proposal for a concrete mark.eting plan.
Can we go for a phone call on Thursday at 1:00 PM? Please let me know if that works for you. Otherwise, please suggest a better day and time that fits your schedule.
Sincerely,
Cristine Carter | TeraVertical
Marketing & Communications Manager
Encino, CA 91316 | 888.4214.640

All these emails share common attributes that make it very likely that many of these emails are sent out by the same person or group:

• The reply-to address is a Gmail account with a period a suffix like mktg or sales
• Phone numbers and domain names and, sometimes, addresses are obfuscated with hidden spaces or special characters
• Addresses are of modest private residences in the LA area
• The formatting of the signatures are similar
• The wording of the email body is very repetitive with only small variations between campaigns
• The senders are not real persons that live and work in the LA area and have a social media presence, which would be expected for someone who is active in online marketing

In some cases, the firms are real, can be found on Google Maps, and can be reviewed unfavorably, which usually triggers a swift response from a company official with a request to remove the rating, in return for the privilege of no longer receiving their spam.

But these crooks are becoming more sophisticated, and while individuals who work there will freely share information about their employer on Linkedin and other websites, the businesses themselves do not seem to exist, in a legal sense. Their domains have proxy registrations, there is no street address associated with the company, no incorporation or other business registration record can be found. So I can’t review them, report them to the Better Business Bureau, or take other action. They probably change these throw-away company names on a daily basis, or use multiple at the same time, and the names of the people working there are fictitious.

To keep track of the campaigns, compare them over time, and for others to share their experiences, I started this blog post. Here is the SPAMMER HALL OF FAME.

Date	Company Name, etc.	Sender Name
4/17/2019	Capterra (for DICentral)	Grace Cunningham
4/22/2019	Innovify (Various locations)	Sam H(arris) sam@innovifylab.com
4/24/2019	TeraVertical (Encino, CA)	Cristina Carter
4/24/2019	Innovify (Various locations)	Sam H(arris)
4/25/2019	Capterra (for DICentral)	Grace Cunningham
4/25/2019	Imparture (London)	Angela Henderson
4/26/2019	TeraVertical (Encino, CA)	Kate Keats
4/28/2019	TeraVertical (Encino, CA) or DMACentral (or are they the same)	Christine Guzman chrisguzman.dmacentral@gmail.com
4/29/2019	TeraVertical (Encino, CA)	Ivana Randle irandle.mktg@gmail.com
4/30/2019	Innovify (Various locations)	Sam H(arris) sam@innovifylab.com live:gaurav_795 +1 650 690 2186
4/30/2019	CBI Marketing Solutions (Encino, CA) 4924 Balboa Blvd is a mailbox rental business	Chris Tan and/or Greg Miller chris.tan@cbimarketingsolutions.com
5/1/2019	PotentialLeads	Carylon Hazel ? chazel.sales@gmail.com
5/7/2019	TeraVertical (Encino, CA)	Katlyn Nieves katlynn.mktg@gmail.com
5/7/2019	http://talkbusiness360.com (this is new spin – wants to sell me advertising time !?)	Michael Smith michael@industryinnovators.com
5/8/2019	Brafton (Boston)	Kim Pasucci K.pascucci@brafton.com
5/9/2019	InceptionworX	Evelyn Knight eknight.salesdev@gmail.com
5/9/2019	“a professional web design company. based in India”	bhavna sharmaseo bhavnasharmaseo@yahoo.com
5/9/2019	Koalified Leads (hahaha)	Alycia Mcclellan amcclellan.sales@gmail.com
5/10/2019	insidesaleswiz.com 16770 Encino Hills Dr., Encino, CA 91436 (another burner company in Encino)	Chelsea Carter chelsea.insidesaleswiz@gmail.com
5/10/2019	If You Market, They Will Come (not!) 21515 Vanowen St, Suite 216 Canoga Park, CA 91303	Jessica Johnson jessica@Ifyoumarketemail.com
5/10/2019	Proforte INC. 2345 Yale Street, 1st Floor, Palo Alto, CA-94306. US	Yatish M. Yale (ComplianceIQ) trainings@mailers.complianceiq.com
5-13-2019	Innovify (Various locations)	Sam H(arris) sam@innovifylab.com live:gaurav_795 +1 650 690 2186
5-14-2019	Potentialeads, Encino, CA	Bertha Lawrence berthalawrence.mktg@gmail.com +1 855 487 4832
5-14-2019	InceptionworX	Judy Blanton judyb.salesdev@gmail.com
5/14/2019	TALK BUSINESS 360	Michael Smith msmith14@talkbusiness360tv.com
5/21/2019	TeraVertical, Los Angeles, CA	Tracy Sullivan tracy.mrktg@gmail.com
5/23/2019	Kick Start Sales Force	Aubrey Mae Pedroza aubreymae.ledger@gmail.com
6/6/2019	InsideSalesWiz.com +1 888 584 6410	Krystal Eiesland salesdev.krystale@gmail.com
6/6/2019	LEADSIGNITE.com +1 888 447 2549	Clarice Hindman chindman.mktg@gmail.com
6/19/2019	DMA Central +1 866 920 5103	Mary Hoppings maryhoppings@gmail.com
6/27/2019	megabizmarketing.com (neither biz nor mega) 4270 W Avenue 40 Los Angeles, CA 90065 +1 855 558 3043	Earlene Burnett eburnett.mktg@gmail.com
8/6/2019	Marketing Rep. | InsideSalesWiz P: 888·584·6410	Isabella Brown isabellabrownmktg@gmail.com
8/6/2019	Potentialeads Encino, CA 91316 USA phone: 855-487-4832	Inez Peterkin sales.inezp@gmail.com