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Microsoft. A huge enabler of spammers?


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#1 Iblayz

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Posted 22 January 2023 - 06:40 PM

I HATE spam email. And, based on my experience, Microsoft has now become the biggest provider of network access to spammers. And they clearly do NOT want to stop them. If they do, they are really doing a poor job and that is both disappointing and surprising. In spite of the clear fact that the tech industry decided in the past that they were welcome to invade our privacy, I resent the idea of anyone presuming that it is OK to send me as much junk email as they want. These emails are coming to my email address on my computers and into my home. And, I am NOT going to change the primary email address that I have had for nearly twenty years because of these worthless turds.

 

A couple of years ago, I went on a rampage against the spammers. I started looking up the providers of the originating IP’s listed in the email headers. Virtually all of them have “abuse” email addresses for the very purpose of reporting bad behavior. I have sent abuse reports to just about every network provider on earth. A while after starting this, I started getting a ton of spam from Amazon AWS downstream customers. I ended up sending them (Amazon AWS) over 400 abuse reports (and some to Amazon SES as well). They even emailed me and asked me to stop sending them. I refused. BUT I have to give them credit. They stopped the garbage coming to me and since then I have only seen Amazon AWS pop up a handful of times as the access provider. Late last year, I sent over 100 abuse reports to the folks at Sky Broadband UK. They stopped the abuse in its tracks. I sent a few to the folks at Sendgrid/Twillio. They not only stopped it, but they also sent me two emails and ASKED me to continue sending reports to them because they did NOT WANT the garbage on THEIR network. I have even had a couple of providers in Africa that I had never heard of go out of their way to respond and stop the junk.

 

But MICROSOFT? Last year I started using spamcop.net to report abuse because it was easier on me time-wise. In the summer, I started noticing a ton of abuse reports going to abuse@hotmail.com. I started paying attention as it changed to abuse@microsoft.com. I started tracking the IP addresses and the MAC address of the sender. They had one customer that was sending me bunches of emails EVERY DAY. So, I started duplicating the abuse reports (with full headers) via my own email and in my own words. I copied all of them to the FTC and the FCC. After I got nothing from that, I started copying several Microsoft execs including the head honcho. Got some results from that because a couple of days after I started it, the pig mentioned above sent me over 100 spam emails in two days. Same sender. I listed the IP addresses on a spreadsheet. Mac address for all of them was almost identical (that is, until they started formatting them without the MAC address in the header). The abuse has NOT stopped from Microsoft downstream customers. Right at the first of this year, I started tracking how many spam emails that I received and how many of those were from Microsoft customers. Since the end of December, I have received 154 spam emails (at least the ones that I remembered to count). But, of those 154, 123 of them have come from Microsoft customers. That illustrates that my prior efforts at reporting have paid off. It also illustrates, unfortunately, that Microsoft is BURYING ITS HEAD IN THE SAND AS IT RELATES TO SPAM sent by their downstream customers. I have now personally sent over 530 abuse reports directly to Microsoft and that is only the ones sent AFTER I started keeping track of them. Along with the ones sent to abuse@hotmail.com via spamcop.net, I am certain that Microsoft has received somewhere between 800 and 1000 abuse reports referencing my email address.

 

Kudos to the folks at Amazon, Sky Broadband, Sendgrid/Twillio, AT&T, Comcast, Charter, and several others, for taking this seriously, showing responsibility and concern, AND FOR TAKING ACTION. Microsoft, on the other hand and based on my experience, acts as though they could not care less. They are doing relatively NOTHING about it. Its as though they care more about a few customers paying them big bucks for network services than they do about MILLIONS of their smaller customers that are dealing with this garbage daily.

 

SHAME ON YOU MICROSOFT! Although I respect you tremendously and have been a regular customer of yours for many years, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that you have acted so irresponsibility in this area. WAKE UP! FIX THE PROBLEM!


Edited by Iblayz, 22 January 2023 - 06:41 PM.


#2 Iblayz

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Posted 23 January 2023 - 05:37 PM

Now up to 130 of the last 161 spam emails received in less than four weeks. Last two subject lines look like this.

 

ð”½ree ð’žovid-19 Ṭests

á•aatva ð˜—artner

 

They are altering subject lines in an effort to avoid spam filters, are faking sender addresses and return addresses and Microsoft is ALLOWING this. I test the IP addresses of every sender. This is what I said to Microsoft in my last abuse complaint.

 

"Are you dead? Or do you just not care? Or do you care more about a few customers who pay you big bucks for network services than you care about hundreds of thousands who pay you little bucks but function as your daily bread and butter? Do you have your heads stuck so far up Wall Street’s butt that this stuff is irrelevant to you. Apparently, you (Microsoft) feel as though a customer who pays you for networking services has a “right” to send out anything that they want. Truth is, they should not have that right when I am telling you to stop them because I do NOT want their endless garbage emails. YOU KNOW who it is or who they are and you are doing nothing. Amazon AWS, Amazon SES, AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Sky Broadband, Sengrid/Twillio, several EU access providers, and even a couple of third world African providers can ALL stop this garbage on their networks AND HAVE AFTER RECEIVING REPORTS FROM ME, but YOU CANNOT? How many is it going to take before you put your foot down and become the responsible citizen of the internet that you SHOULD be? How many? After all of this time and all of these reports, do you think that I am going to stop? I will stop only when you stop your customers from sending out this garbage. I have NOT approved of any of it and it is not welcome in MY inbox on MY computer in MY home. Got that? Have you forgotten that I am one of your customers and have been for many, many years…..and that there are millions out there like me who are offended by this constant barrage of unwelcome, garbage emails? Somebody at Microsoft needs to FIX THE PROBLEM! I am NOT going to stop until you do your job as it should be done and stop this!"

 



#3 Iblayz

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 01:25 PM

Since this thread seems to be getting constant hits, I decided to update. Trust me, Microsoft knows who I am just from what I have already posted here. I am now approaching 900 direct spam abuse reports to Microsoft regarding trash emails to my address. I am now at 177 of the last 208 spam emails that have come from Microsoft provided IP addresses. I am also at a point now where, for several weeks, ALL spam coming to my email address has been from downstream customers of Microsoft. Here is what I just sent to them in my last abuse report and I guess it says it all. I address the FCC because I have copied all of the FCC commissioners on the last several abuse reports. And, Microsoft is getting double slammed here because I first go through spamcop.net with a report and then do an additional one from my own email address (or addresses). I created some alias email addresses to submit reports referencing my primary address because every single on of them is also copied to several Microsoft execs. I did that to make sure they got some new reports in case they had blocked the primary email address complaints getting through to them.

 

"Microsoft KNOWS who this particular customer is and appears to be doing absolutely nothing to stop this. That’s a real shame. A great, well-respected company allowing its name to be drug through the mud by scumbag scammers. Now there are thirteen emails in seven days supposedly from someone with Kohls (and of course, none of them really are). It looks to me like ALL of the worthless, pig-scum spammers in the U.S. have now migrated to Microsoft platforms because I am getting NOTHING from anybody else’s customers. And Microsoft seems to have a “we welcome you with open arms policy” to these scumbags. Please FCC……do something about this. They (Microsoft) deserve to be roasted over the coals for this. I am approaching 900 abuse reports to Microsoft (and may already be over that) regarding spam that was sent to my email address. Are you going to let Microsoft get away with enabling this garbage?"