We are all subject to spam messages, and sometimes they can be a real pain. There are various mechanisms for reducing it, the more sophisticated methods I use require a match between some text and an image.
However if a human is behind sending spam, then they can defeat these systems and send it anyway.
During an idle moment, I started think about it a bit more.
If it is a human sending spam messages, then it is likely that they do not get paid much, and probably do not pay too much attention to what they are sending. I can tell this by looking at some of the messages that come in which have letters for example where telephone numbers should be. Or perhaps the systems are automated and have a human standing by when a problem occurs.
Either way, I have also noted that if a choice is already made in a form, then the default choice is often used. So what happens if the default selection is “I send Spam“? So I tried it.
In the image you can see that there is now a selection for the subject line of the message. The default setting is “I send spam”. If a bot or bored human sends a message they will not change that setting. Anyone genuinely wishing to contact the website will make a selection other than “I send spam”
… And here is the first candidate through this form. It is a spam message and they have not changed the subject line. So if this theory holds up I can now create a filter in my email box, that redirects the suspect message into a folder for messages that have “I send spam” in the subject line.
The filter above will detect any messages coming into this mail box which contains the precise text “I send spam” on the subject line, and redirect it to a special folder called Spam Suspects.
About this approach
It is experimental, but looking promising.
Pros:
- It should trap spammers who are either bots, human, bots supported by humans, people that are not paying attention.
- With the default subject line the message can be accurately detected and sent to a special folder.
- The inbox should be more clear of spam than it was before.
Cons:
- A real enquirer not paying attention might also fall for it.
- You still have to check the spam suspects folder and clear it out from time to time in case there is something important in there.