Is Vonage Sending Out Spam?

Posts: 18 · Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:42 pm Post subject: Is Vonage Sending Out Spam?

Is Vonage sending out spam now? Or is someone trying to hurt Vonage's image?

I got the following email sent to 1 of my accounts:

=============================================

From: "Post Office Stuff (GOBVI)" <Vonage-2989150-K@GOBVI.from.ek-post.com> Add to Address Book
To: #####################
Subject: OFFER: 24.99 a Month. Unlimited calls anywhere (US and Canada)
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 18:38:15 -0500

> Post Office Stuff (GOBVI). 03/03/2005
> Special for ############
------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________________________________

MAKE THE SWITCH NOW
_________________________________________________________________________

Connect your home phone to your Hi-speed Internet
To Get More and Pay Less

Switch Now - Click Here:
GOBVI.go.ek-post.com/go/g/65/6542/1/m.asp?0519892
_________________________________________________________________________

For only $24.99 a month. You get it all.

FREE Voicemail
FREE Voicemail to Email
FREE Caller ID
FREE Call Waiting
FREE Call Forwarding
FREE Call Transfer
FREE Three Way Calling
Keep Your Existing Phone Number
Pick Your Area Code
Virtual Phone Numbers
Great International Rates
Calls to Canada Included Free
Money-Back Guarantee

Switch Now - Click Here:
GOBVI.go.ek-post.com/go/g/65/6542/1/m.asp?0519892

_________________________________________________________________________

This email is a commercial advertisement sent in compliance with the
CANSPAM Act of 2003.
We have no desire to send you information that is not wanted,
therefore, if you wish to be excluded
from future mailings, please use the link at the bottom of the page.

If you wish to opt out of receiving future emails from Vonage.com,
please send an email to:
http://GOBVI.go.ek-post.com/go/g/65/6542/2/m.asp?0519892
with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Vonage.com 2747 Route 27 Edison, New Jersey 08817

REMOVELINK: GOBVI.go.ek-post.com/go/g/65/6542/r/?0519892
------------------------------------------------------------

Posts: 59 · Full Forum Member Joined: Feb 09, 2005 Posts: 59

Look at the URLs in the e-mail. It's not from Vonage.

Posts: 36 · Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:54 pm Post subject:

it IS spam, but not from vonage. It's a a spammer sending out spam to an address which is using forwarding to Vonage under their referral ID so that they get a credit if y ou sign up.
Report this to vonage. Send copies of headers and if you have access, the log entries to PROVE that this spammer sent it to you.
Vonage will cancel their referral's and they'll never get credit. SEcondly, I suggest you report them to their ISP and their uplinks.
If you have a cable modem, setup your own email server and you can filter spam anyway including address verification, white listing, gray listing, SPF checking, RBL listing, reverse PTR's etc.
There is a multitude of tricks available to STOP spam cold. Plus many DSL/CABLE routers have access-list capability. Dlink does so I block the countries that regularly send spam from even entering my network.

So...vonage isn't a spammer. Someone else is.

Posts: 18 · Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:02 pm Post subject:

I had a feeling it was not from Vonage, so I forwarded a copy of the email to spam-police@vonage.com.

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 11

Actually it is a thrid part company spamming for vonage..
I cancelde my Vonage service...I do not want to deal with spammers..

Here is the vonage's spammer's signature

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This e-offer was sent to you as a permission-based subscriber of:

Mesa Media, 405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., #336
Tampa, FL 33609
We will bring you valuable e-offers on the products and services that interest you most.
If you do not wish to receive future e-offers, please Visit Us Here to change your preferences.

pjgolian wrote:

I had a feeling it was not from Vonage, so I forwarded a copy of the email to spam-police@vonage.com.

Posts: 482 · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:51 pm Post subject:

So you think that Vonage provides their customer list to a third-party and pays them to email you asking you to "switch to VoIP" without ever mentioning you'd be switching to Vonage? That's probably the dumbest marketing campaign of all time.

Just because Vonage's address is listed at the bottom doesn't mean it is from Vonage. Vonage would just send you an email directly, and they would certainly use their brand-name in the marketing. That happens all the time with Vonage, which is exactly why they have the "spam-police@vonage.com" account.

A couple years ago, I was a domain admin/Exchange admin for one of the "Big 4" US accounting firms (still work there, but in a better position). That address is actually on a list of "unwanted domains" that do spam. Mesa Media is also associated with EK-Post, and it's more likely that somewhere along the way (not necessarily the Vonage user agreement), you inadvertently accepted an agreement where you authorized the release of your information to third-party agents.

Posts: 36 · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:02 pm Post subject: Re: Vonage is the one spamming..

timus wrote:

Actually it is a thrid part company spamming for vonage..
I cancelde my Vonage service...I do not want to deal with spammers..

Here is the vonage's spammer's signature

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This e-offer was sent to you as a permission-based subscriber of:

Mesa Media, 405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., #336
Tampa, FL 33609
We will bring you valuable e-offers on the products and services that interest you most.
If you do not wish to receive future e-offers, please Visit Us Here to change your preferences.

ridiculous.

have the initial poster send the headers. It's not spam FROM vonage, nor is it SPAM with the permission of VONAGE.

It's someone's attempt to MAKE MONEY by sending SPAM to advertise their REFERRAL id for VONAGE.
There is a difference beyond some people's comprehension.

I've been a vonage customer for several years. I've even had referral links on my web sites. There are certain rules that VONAGE goes by, advertising on adult sites isn't one, spamming isn't one and there are more.

Anyone can advertise a product if they so choose. The owners of the products being advertised have complete control over what image they choose to project and to protect.
If VONAGE doesn't like you spamming on their behalf, they will and can cancel your referral capabilities and maybe even your service.

Posts: 98 · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Vonage is the one spamming..

timus wrote:

Actually it is a thrid part company spamming for vonage..
I cancelde my Vonage service...I do not want to deal with spammers..

Here is the vonage's spammer's signature

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This e-offer was sent to you as a permission-based subscriber of:

Mesa Media, 405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., #336
Tampa, FL 33609
We will bring you valuable e-offers on the products and services that interest you most.
If you do not wish to receive future e-offers, please Visit Us Here to change your preferences.

Look at the "signature", it even states it is from Mesa Media in Florida, Vonage is in New Jersey!

You're on a witch hunt, timus, and won't let yourself see what's really going on here.

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 11

Medic63,

Are you serious on that comment or you are not reading what we wrote here...?

Hmm.. then you can not work with a spaming company which is locaed in another state...Funny....

Thanks for making me smile Smile

Medic63 wrote:

timus wrote:

Actually it is a thrid part company spamming for vonage..
I cancelde my Vonage service...I do not want to deal with spammers..

Here is the vonage's spammer's signature

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This e-offer was sent to you as a permission-based subscriber of:

Mesa Media, 405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., #336
Tampa, FL 33609
We will bring you valuable e-offers on the products and services that interest you most.
If you do not wish to receive future e-offers, please Visit Us Here to change your preferences.

Look at the "signature", it even states it is from Mesa Media in Florida, Vonage is in New Jersey!

You're on a witch hunt, timus, and won't let yourself see what's really going on here.

Posts: 11 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 11

Very Good Point...You are conflicting with yourself...

"If VONAGE doesn't like you spaming on their behalf, they will and can cancel your referral capabilities and maybe even your service."

Yeah WHY DOES NOT VONAGE CANCEL THIS COMPANY'S ACCOUNT THEN ??

PLUS..I have been in referral business for 7 years...and that company's referral URL does not carry a regular referral ID...

eliotj wrote:

timus wrote:

Actually it is a thrid part company spamming for vonage..
I cancelde my Vonage service...I do not want to deal with spammers..

Here is the vonage's spammer's signature

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

This e-offer was sent to you as a permission-based subscriber of:

Mesa Media, 405 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., #336
Tampa, FL 33609
We will bring you valuable e-offers on the products and services that interest you most.
If you do not wish to receive future e-offers, please Visit Us Here to change your preferences.

ridiculous.

have the initial poster send the headers. It's not spam FROM vonage, nor is it SPAM with the permission of VONAGE.

It's someone's attempt to MAKE MONEY by sending SPAM to advertise their REFERRAL id for VONAGE.
There is a difference beyond some people's comprehension.

I've been a vonage customer for several years. I've even had referral links on my web sites. There are certain rules that VONAGE goes by, advertising on adult sites isn't one, spamming isn't one and there are more.

Anyone can advertise a product if they so choose. The owners of the products being advertised have complete control over what image they choose to project and to protect.
If VONAGE doesn't like you spamming on their behalf, they will and can cancel your referral capabilities and maybe even your service.