Weird E-mail

[AlohaPride]

I received an email to "Amsterdam Cruisers" and visits to Turkey with prices for tons of different sore excursions. Am I alone in this?

 

Here is the body of the email:

 

Dear Holland America Cruisers

 

Have a great day from TURKEY PORTS OF CALL

 

We have the honor you offer you a private family trip (shore excursions) in Turkey

 

If you are visiting Istanbul for the first time. We will be happy to offer you the tour below

 

Regarding Istanbul: we would recommend you

Istanbul Old City Tour (Full day tour)

http://turkeyportsofcall.com/Istanbul-CityTour.html

The tour price per family 375 USD

 

Inclusions:

Pick up services from your port or hotel & return

All transfers by a private air-conditioned vehicle

Private licensed authorized tour guide

Entry fees to the historical sites

All taxes & service charge

Exclusions:

Any extras not mentioned in the itinerary

Lunch during tours

Tipping for driver / guide, etc

 

Regarding kusdasi: would recommend you

Private Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary, Artemis temple

http://turkeyportsofcall.com/kusadasi-tours2.html

The tour price per family 285 USD

Inclusions:

Pick up services from your port or hotel & return

All transfers by a private air-conditioned vehicle

Private licensed authorized tour guide

Entry fees to the historical sites

Lunch during tours

All taxes & service charge

Exclusions:

Any extras not mentioned in the itinerary

Tipping for driver / guide, etc

 

We are looking forward hearing back from you soon

Thank you very much

 

 

 

Have a great day & best regard

Hazem Abbas

Travel consultant

Ahmediye Mah. Halk Cad .No 37 Sunar iş merkazi - Kat 4 - No 404 Üsküdar - Istanbul

<snip>so as not to include contact information<snip>

[Vict0riann]

Do you always have an email address in your posts? I occasionally include one in a post, but I opened a gmail account for that, because I figured if I started getting unsolicited emails, I could just cancel the gmail address and open another with a different name, and not worry about it.

[AlohaPride]

Do you always have an email address in your posts? I occasionally include one in a post, but I opened a gmail account for that, because I figured if I started getting unsolicited emails, I could just cancel the gmail address and open another with a different name, and not worry about it.

 

I've had it in my siggy for years with spaces so companies can't just cut and copy. I guess that's not good enough anymore. Sigh.

[Vict0riann]

That was fast! :D

 

I did get one email like that when we went to the Far East. I had been looking at that tour provider on Tripadvisor, too, but getting an unsolicited email put me off. I did reply - "thanks, but no thanks". We eventually did go on his tour - but someone else organized it. It was one of the best tours of the cruise, so you never know!

 

It is kind of weird, though, when you think you are talking privately with others on your roll call, to know some is watching!:eek:

[cbr663]

Looks like a scam to me. I would delete it and then block the email address.

[AlohaPride]

That was fast! :D

 

I did get one email like that when we went to the Far East. I had been looking at that tour provider on Tripadvisor, too, but getting an unsolicited email put me off. I did reply - "thanks, but no thanks". We eventually did go on his tour - but someone else organized it. It was one of the best tours of the cruise, so you never know!

 

It is kind of weird, though, when you think you are talking privately with others on your roll call, to know some is watching!:eek:

 

I know the internet is public, but didn't think anyone would take the time to remove all the spaces. Oh well. I'll report it as spam to google and be done with it.

What's weird, is I'm going to Alaska, not the Far East ROFL. I wish.

[Vict0riann]

I know the internet is public, but didn't think anyone would take the time to remove all the spaces. Oh well. I'll report it as spam to google and be done with it.

What's weird, is I'm going to Alaska, not the Far East ROFL. I wish.

 

Ha Ha! I was thinking you were on a GWV or something! I guess you won't be shopping for Turkish carpets there.

[andrewhuston]

AFter years of spam emails from Nigeria, Romania, Russia, everywhere it seems, you can always tell from reading the phrasing and use of English terms, or not.

 

Once in Baltimore I sure gave this taxcab driver from Ngeria hell for sending me all those emails! grin

[Typhoon1]

Someone, apparently took the time and effort to decipher your email address in your

signature. Consequently, you're getting the email.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Typhoon1

[PathfinderEss]

OP, that email is totally weird. I think I would just delete it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just one more good reason not to put your personal e-mail address in your signature.

Someone was definitely trying to scam you.

[Globaliser]

I've had it in my siggy for years with spaces so companies can't just cut and copy. I guess that's not good enough anymore.

I know the internet is public, but didn't think anyone would take the time to remove all the spaces.

Someone, apparently took the time and effort to decipher your email address in your signature.

That's never been good enough to defeat automatic email address harvesting programs. It's the work of mere minutes to write code that takes out the spaces. No particular time or effort needed.

 

To disguise an email address, you have to do things that only a human can understand.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Globaliser

[sail7seas]

I'm not sure I'd call it scam.

They well could be a reputable private tour provider trying to get business but I am very sure I would not be tempted to book with them after receiving an unsolicited e-mail.

 

I get unsolicited e-mails all the time from various well known department stores trying to sell me everything and anything. :) They're not scamming me; just trying to get business.

[0bnxshs]

I believe that Cruise Critic has rules regarding tour operators harvesting email addresses and using them to solicit business. Naturally, the mere fact that a rule exists doesn't stop some.

 

You might report the situation to the operators of Cruise Critic. They can't do much about your situation but they do know that things like that can drive us away from their site and might work to prevent further intrusive harvesting.

[catl331]

Looks like a scam to me. I would delete it and then block the email address.

 

OP, that email is totally weird. I think I would just delete it.

There is a post on the Ports of Call forum that says they used Hazem Abbas for a private tour a few years ago, so it appears that it is a legitimate tour company trawling for business. Edited June 24, 2014 by catl331

[Globaliser]

They can't do much about your situation but they do know that things like that can drive us away from their site and might work to prevent further intrusive harvesting.

In reality, there's nothing that CC management can do to prevent harvesting of email addresses if members post them.

 

In the past, I have suggested that those who feel that they must post an email address in connection with a cruise should set up a single-purpose email account for that cruise alone. Give out that email address, and only that one. When the cruise is over, you can discard that account and never look at it again - and you'll never be bothered by a spammer who writes to it.

[Linda&Vern]

Personally - I would delete the e:mail ASAP, and I certainly would not click on any link in the mail. Unless you signed up for something to ask for information I would assume it is spam and run the other way. That's just me.

[serendipity1499]

In reality, there's nothing that CC management can do to prevent harvesting of email addresses if members post them.

 

In the past, I have suggested that those who feel that they must post an email address in connection with a cruise should set up a single-purpose email account for that cruise alone. Give out that email address, and only that one. When the cruise is over, you can discard that account and never look at it again - and you'll never be bothered by a spammer who writes to it.

 

I have a single e-mail account which I use only for Cruise Critic.. Once in a while Posters have e-mailed me but I don't open the e-mail unless the poster puts "Re: Cruise Critic" in the subject box.. All other e-mails I auto delete.. It's worked very well for me..

[sail7seas]

I had set up a hot mail account and now cannot access it.

Did Hotmail disappear?

[0bnxshs]

I had set up a hot mail account and now cannot access it.

Did Hotmail disappear?

 

It's been rolled up into the live.com and/or outlook.com website, but you should still be able to access it via hotmail.com, you'll just get re-directed to the new sites.