How many emails have you gotten from a Nigerian prince who claims that you are a long lost relative and who wants to give you two million dollars, only if you will kindly hand over your bank account info?
This happens to me several times a day. Stuff like this is part and parcel of fraud and scams, especially on large e-commerce platforms. While I was trolling the web the other day, I found this short article on Alizila.com, addressing email spam from the Alibaba.com platform and what they are doing about it.
I think it's pretty clever with the zombie picture (although I would have chosen a Michael Jackson's "Thriller Video" screen capture). Have a read - email spam is a big part of fraud.
The fact that Alibaba.com is addressing this is big, so I am going to shamelessly cross-post this on my other blog.
Alibaba.com Slays Zombie Spam
Alibaba.com users receiving regular marketing e-mails from the B2B website have long complained that even when they try to opt out, the spam just keeps on coming, like some zombies and Facebook friends we know. Figuring that customers might appreciate an "unsubscribe" function that actually works, Alibaba.com is migrating to a new e-mail subscription management system that is a lot easier on users--including those who prefer to not hear from the company at all.
The initial phase of the transition went live on Aug. 15. Now members are able to opt out of most of the marketing and advertising e-mails sent by the company with a few mouse clicks, and without having to log on to the Alibaba.com website, a requirement of the old system. Unsubscribing is equally easy for non-members who find themselves in Alibaba's marketing crosshairs.
All subscription changes should take effect within two days, which is a big improvement over never taking effect. Alibaba.com officials say they're working on further refinements to the subscription management system.
