A New Ripoff

I have to admit; this is a new one on me.  This morning, I received an email supposedly from Barbara O'Brien.  If you've been around as long as I have, you've bumped into the name once or twice.  The text of the email will probably explain things a little better:

Dear Chicken is Not Pillage,

My name is Barbara O’ Brien and my blogging at The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere on the progressive political and health blogophere has earned me the notoriety of being a panelist at the Yearly Kos Convention and a featured guest blogger at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, DC.

I’m contacting you because I found your blog in a prominent political and health care site search and want to tell you about my newest blogging platform —the public concern of health care. Our shared concerns include health reform, public health, and asbestos contamination.

To increase awareness on these important issues, my goal is to get a resource link on your site or even allow me to provide a guest posting.  In light of the new health care bill I also have content that may interest you. Please contact me back, I hope to hear from you soon. 

Sincerely,

Barbara O’ Brien

[email protected]

 The varying fonts, et al, are as they appeared in the original, as is the poor grasp of written English.  One would think immediately that this was spam, save that Barbara O'Brien is a very real person, is the owner of The Mahablog and has the credentials given.  But never once, in a decade online, have I ever seen a circumstance where a prominent blogger offered to guest post at a small out-of-the-way website.  And the email looked kinda funny too.   Mahablog is not 'maacenter'.

Turns out, this is just a bit a spam, but spam I tend to take particular offense to.  The Maacenter site is just Mesothelioma profiteering.  That's particularly offensive to me given my study of Libby and the travails they have and continue to face there.   It is particularly offensive because it usurps the identity of a prominent and respected blogger.  And it is acutely offensive because of the insult to my intelligence.

This was not some robot harvesting emails and sending Viagra ads.  This was someone specifically targeting small liberal websites, addresses probably spidered off of liberal blog aggregators.  And no software robot chose O'Brien as the authority lending credence to the lie.  This was very personal, in execution and intent.  Whoever concocted this scheme thinks enough of the recipients are stupid that they will profit thereby.  I'm not.   They won't get a red cent from me or because of me.  All they did get was a nasty email hoping for their swift and painfully terrifying death.  In fact, I left that email address active in this post, should anyone else care to offer suggestions to Maacenter for their timely demise.  I also sent an email to the very real Barbara O'Brien informing her of this attempt to steal her identity.  I have no idea whether that email will be read, or if this an ongoing event she's well aware of.  Don't much care, either.  I did what's right.

I've been blogging for over 6 and half years, and this is a new one on me.  I'd truly appreciate it if anyone had seen this before that they let me know.

Comments

[Widowmaker]

Wulfgar, while this is sad I disagree that this is not a bot. I googled the text and its found in thousands of random posts and replies throughout various blogs; domestic and foreign, conservative and liberal, and some didn't even appear to be related to politics.