Something To Moo About

I get frequent spam mails, but most are similar in content. There are the outright obvious frauds, a such as the penis enlargement ads or the plea from that African "king" who promises to let me share his 20 million dollar savings. Then there are the medical pleas, like the diet pills that are supposed to make a person thin in a matter of weeks or the cheap Viagra for sale.
But one I got today is a new twist on spam. It clearly appeals to the same fear factor that George Bush used so well when he wished to fleece Americans into one of his crazy policies. The ad is entitled KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE and precedes to offer "up to three free child identification kits" that are supposed to "be an invaluable assets in assisting law enforcement officials in identifying and rescuing missing or adopted children."
Haha Of course it is a "limited time offer" and a product of the "Child Safe Network". I was asked to click on a logo to be taken to the site home page. I was curious and did. What I found was another page of provocative rhetoric that was supposed to frighten me into giving my money to protect Jane from the phantom enemies the ad said were lurking and ready to attack. That second page was the sign up page ("It's all free" said the logo I assure you it never is).
It had the usual boxes to complete asking for info during the sign up process, and skillfully has a banner that says "Sign up now and have free access to our data base of over 40,000 registered sex offenders. See who is living in YOUR neighborhood (I wonder if those sex offenders are checking to see if I live in their neighborhood...)
I did not register but clicked to see info on the site. One thing it said was that "a portion of the proceeds is donated to charities, including the FOUNDATION FOR MISSING CHILDREN. No doubt if any money is "donated" to any "charity" it is a charity owned by the site. I am willing to bet the Foundation for Missing Children is the same things as the site itself. What an obvious scam this one is! What is especially offensive is that it uses fear to deceive parents into thinking their children are at risk of being molested.
That probability is highly unlikely, and the idea that looking for sex offenders addresses will ensure the safety of a child is even more crazy. But this kind of fear driven hysteria is more and more prevalent since Bush was elected and has so successfully used the same strategy to force odorous policies on Americans.
No doubt the only victims that site will expose are the duped customers who give them money to use the site.