Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Amateur chicanery

Here's some fax spam in the guise of a clipped magazine article, with the headline: "Cancun Voted #1 Growing Vacation Destination in the World." A handwritten note at the top says "Thought you'd find this interesting." Here's the first paragraph - it's all pretty funny, but if you must skip ahead, at least read the last two sentences:

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CANCUN - If you're looking to go on a vacation Cancun might be the place for you. A recent worldwide poll judged vacation hotspots on several categories including cost, resort quality, weather, safety, food, entertainment, and overall traveler satisfaction. Cancun took 1st place in an impressive 21 of 24 categories. Although we can't endorse any travel companies our editors found prices in the $300's for all inclusive packages from a reputable company. Their toll free number is 800 555-5555.

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What integrity!

The second-best part is that the number is circled, and there's a note in the margin that says "This is the number I called - 1-800-555-5555."

The third-best part is that the "article" has a double byline.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just received this through my fax at work today. I need to get a fax that sends it to email instead of wasting paper.

Anonymous said...

Actually the best thing about the article is that it's supposedly in the "Money" section of USA Today and not the "Travel" section. And that it lists the phone # right in the article has if USA Today is in the business of promoting vacation brokers.

Anonymous said...

This fax has now resurfaced with a phony article dated December 6, 2007. I contacted USA Today, and they have their legal people looking into it. If you call the number listed, you'll be talkin with some of the sleasiest people on the planet.