UCE from Avantgo partner "Verizon Online DSL with MSN 8"

[davidspalding]

It finally happened ... it was inevitable ... I recieved UCE (commercial spam) from a company I have no affiliation with, to the address which I registered to Avantgo (and no one else; pundits please hold your fire).

Mail came from Verizon.01o.com ... actually sent from an IP on 00b.net ... both belonging to Britemoon.com (www.britemoon.com) ([email protected]).

... The weak link appears to be Avantgo, who must've released the address without my consent. Duh-oh.... (Further pundit fodder: promotinal e-mail from Avantgo partners and affiliates is disallowed, and has been from Day One.)

Anyone else get this "Verizon online DSL with MSN 8" ad?

[Dave Beauvais]

I got that same message, from the same sender, but didn't take note of the address to which it was sent. I'll be very annoyed if AvantGo has sold my address.

Like you, I use a unique address in my domain with AvantGo so it's easy enough to deactivate it and bounce any future spam, but they have apparently violated their own privacy policy. Whenever an ad pops up in AvantGo, I always clear my e-mail address from the form before tapping "No Thanks," so I don't think it was something I did. :?

--Dave

[PetiteFlower]

Your address could have been harvested by a bot though, AvantGo might not have done anything.

Personally I use a hotmail address for EVERYTHING I do online and only give my personal address to friends. That way all the spam goes to hotmail and doesn't clog up my Outlook.

[Dave Beauvais]

Your address could have been harvested by a bot though, AvantGo might not have done anything. ...
Not possible. That address has never been posted or used anywhere but for AvantGo registration.

When doing anything that requires an e-mail address, I use an address in my domain that's associated with that site. In this case, it's "avantgo@..." That way, if i start to get spam at that address I know exactly what company sold, traded, gave away, or otherwise compromised my personal data. If that happens, I disable that address so that any future messages sent to it bounce back as undeliverable.

--Dave

[davidspalding]

Your address could have been harvested by a bot though, AvantGo might not have done anything.

How so? The users' email addresses are kept private. And like Dave, I used a unique, otherwise secret address for Avantgo.

Good point about the "no thanks" forms, I have trusted Avantgo that they are not sending malicious or deceptive code in those forms. And I already complained to them about interstitial ads that I have to answer before getting to the Avantgo home page. Deaf ears there, alas.

BTW, another example of a TRUSTe certification meaning ... nothing. Last time I complained to TRUSTe about a site which was refusing to stop sending their newsletter to my wife, andwould not honor opt-out requests, they shared the complaint AND my identity with the site, and -- contrary to my specified intent in the complaint -- the site complained back to me, though they were NOT supposed to. TRUSTe has all the legitimacy and backbone of a counterfeit ramen noodle. Just my opinion, of course. >:|

[Dave Beauvais]

I just received the following e-mail from AvantGo explaining (and apologizing for) the Verizon spam. Interestingly, it also originated from an 01o.com address. (customer_supportatavantgo.01o.com)

--Dave
Dear AvantGo User,

We are writing to apologize for an e-mail you may have seen in the last few days about Verizon Online DSL. The e-mail was accidentally sent as a result of an error in the software coding of the ad created for Verizon and run on the My AvantGo service. The result of the error was that an email auto-respond system mistakenly sent e-mails to AvantGo users who did not request the e-mail.

If you received the e-mail in error, AvantGo sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience, as neither AvantGo nor Verizon in any way intended, authorized, or approved the distribution of this email to any person who did not request information about Verizon Services. AvantGo and Verizon highly value your privacy and work hard to protect it. This type of occurrence is unacceptable, and AvantGo is taking steps to ensure it does not happen again.

We sincerely regret this error and hope that you will continue to use and enjoy our service in the future.

Sincerely,

Neil Versen
Senior Director
My AvantGo

Please be aware that you have not been opted in to any program as a result of the ad which appeared on your PDA. To manage your My AvantGo account preferences, please visit the My Account page. If you have already opted-out of receiving e-mails from AvantGo, you will not receive any further communications.

Go to http://www.myavantgo.com to access your email subscriptions under the 'My Account' tab.

[davidspalding]

<- Not buying the ********. Sounds like they're claiming that users who opted out of a My Avantgo ad received the promotion anyway.

Ahem. I received an interstitial ad with the exact same artwork on My Avantgo 2-3 days after the spam went out. That is, they sent me the spam, ... then I got the interstitial. No interaction from me was required.

I suspect they either sent the spam to every user regardless, then did hte interstitial as a cover, or somehow didn't segregate opt-in and opt-out users, and the spam was sent to their entire clientele as they were also preparing an interstitial.

Again, they'll never get my money now. If you can't do something like honor your own opt-out policies, how reliable a provider/vendor are you?

[karen]

Again, they'll never get my money now. If you can't do something like honor your own opt-out policies, how reliable a provider/vendor are you?

I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, for now, that this was a glitch. Glitch happen, Mistakes happen, and I'd hope that they've now put in place some checks and balances that this doesn't happen again.

If it does, then I'm going to suggest that everyone visit spamlaws.com to see what rights of action each of us have to collect damages.

Karen

[davidspalding]

Karen, I respect your understanding towards Avantgo, but I contend that

I'd hope that they've now put in place some checks and balances that this doesn't happen again.

... has already failed. As you can see,...

http://www.chromejob.com/pda/avantgo%20verizon%20uce%20violates%20subscription%20pref.gif

... there was already a procedure, certified by TRUSTe, in which users can opt-out of UCE from Avantgo partners, and that AvantGo will stand behind their policy of NOT sending advertising to users who have declined to receive it. This procedure failed, and they spammed users. <slam!> The animals are out of the barn, it's time for TRUSTe Watchdog complaints IMHO.

[karen]

Karen, I respect your understanding towards Avantgo, but I contend that


... has already failed. As you can see,...

... there was already a procedure, certified by TRUSTe, in which users can opt-out of UCE from Avantgo partners, and that AvantGo will stand behind their policy of NOT sending advertising to users who have declined to receive it. This procedure failed, and they spammed users. <slam!> The animals are out of the barn, it's time for TRUSTe Watchdog complaints IMHO.

I understand where you are coming from. With all processes, there's always a human element. Bugs happen not only in code, but in executing processes, both automated and manual.

I'm trying not to cast stones.... Gawd knows that I've made my share of mistakes, both public and private.

If you feel this violations of your agreement with them was intentional, then you definitely should file a complaint.

[davidspalding]

Okay, I think I understand your perspective: Avantgo's intent in releasing opt-out addresses for spammng is an issue. If it was an accident, let it go.

I disagree. I believe that web sites' privacy policies, and pledges to abide by them, assure the registered user that e-mail addresses will be protected and not released to third parties for advertising other purposes (varies by the privacy policy). In this case, Avantgo's obligation was to actively protect users' addresses from release to other parties.

They failed to do this. So their privacy policy, and their assurance to users, has been violated, regardless of how it happened.

If you'd like further reading on this, look on Wired or CNET for reporting on Microsoft's troubles with hacks into the Passport system. They've assured users that users' personal information is confidential, and are facing stiff penalties when it is found that they are not adequately protecing that data. Microsoft doesn't have to intentionally divulge information; just fail to adequately protect data in accordance with privacy policies.