Tradehill member SPAMS the emails in the MtGox dump

[PandaMiner]

I just got an email, not 3 minutes ago, from a person that admits they got all the emails that were posted to the 'net, which came from Mt Gox's database dump.

And then they provide a link to Tradehill using their referral code "TH-R15683." 

Is this genius, or crossing the line?

from   A Bitcoin Supporter Bitcoin@unknown.com
to   <me>
date   Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 6:14 PM
subject   Mt Gox has been hacked
mailed-by   bonecrusher.gulfsouthmedia.com


Dear Sir or Madam,


A few hours ago the Bitcoin trading website Mt Gox has been hacked. Malicious individuals have been able to obtain a database containing usernames, email address and encrypted passwords. This information has been posted publicly on the internet.

As a Bitcoin supporter I'm now sending a message to every email address contained in the hacked database. This is to warn you that your username, email address and password have been leaked. I therefore strongly advice you to change your passwords. If you have used the same password on different websites it's highly recommended to change your password on all of your accounts!

For a more secure alternative to Mt Gox, the community appears to be moving to TradeHill. So this is no reason to lose faith in Bitcoin itself. It must be seen as a warning that not every website can be trusted with your data however! Their link is http://www.tradehill.com/?r=TH-R15683 (Note: You can remove the Referral Code when registering if you want!) This is certainly not the only website where you can exchange Bitcoins, also check out http://www.thebitcoinlist.com/dp_bitcoin/bitcoin-exchange/

[BitcoinPorn]

Tradehill guys should ban said accounts, no?

They browse the forums, but maybe not the Newbie side.

[Maged]

I'm sure the tradehill guys all had MtGox accounts. They should already know about it.

[sonba]

Sending advertisement to people who didn't opt in for it? That's crossing the line, if not to say illegal.

[chuckypalumbo]

I signed up for tradehill, but after seeing stuff like this it makes me want to abandon ship immeidiately. I'll just wait to see what happens tomorrow morning, I'm thinking a massive sell off on Mt. Gox but we'll see.

[linenoise]

It makes tradehill look bad. I know it's not them but an idiot user but if they don't have strict rules . They should cancel any commision program for that account otherwise we'll start seeing this spam show up all over the place.

Their current info on the referral program doesn't specifically mention spam. They better get to changing that ASAP.

[PandaMiner]

Guys, (and gals)

This was a LONE member.  A regular person like you and me.

And they sent me a SECOND identical email now, too. Looks like they couldn't confirm who got a notice/email, and whom didn't. I suspect they were cut off mid-stream by their email client / provider, and decided to "chunk" it out.

If they hadn't have placed their referral code, I would not have complained.  If it were me, I would have worded it like the following...

"... no one exchange is infallible. I highly recommend diversifying. In case you haven't heard of them before, TradeHill.com is an excellent exchange, in my humble opinion. If you want to use my referral code (that gives you a 10% discount on fees) then I would be much obliged. My code is: TH-#####."

[chuckypalumbo]

Guys, (and gals)

This was a LONE member.  A regular person like you and me.

And they sent me a SECOND identical email now, too. Looks like they couldn't confirm who got a notice/email, and whom didn't. I suspect they were cut off mid-stream by their email client / provider, and decided to "chunk" it out.

If they hadn't have placed their referral code, I would not have complained.  If it were me, I would have worded it like the following...

"... no one exchange is infallible. I highly recommend diversifying. In case you haven't heard of them before, TradeHill.com is an excellent exchange, in my humble opinion. If you want to use my referral code (that gives you a 10% discount on fees) then I would be much obliged. My code is: TH-#####."

Doesn't this also give you a kickback when someone uses your code?

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

We've already responded to this here:

 http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=19707.0

We don't condone the use of stolen information for promotion or personal gain.
The user will have their referral codes removed at the least.

This is not how TradeHill does business.

[elk-tamer]

Sending advertisement to people who didn't opt in for it? That's crossing the line, if not to say illegal.

Totally agree. Slimy at the very least.

[BitcoinPorn]

We've already responded to this here:

 http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=19707.0

We don't condone the use of stolen information for promotion or personal gain.
The user will have their referral codes removed at the least.

This is not how TradeHill does business.

Respect to Jered.  I think I might sign up sooner than later (I guess the earliest is the 20th).

[PandaMiner]

We don't condone the use of stolen information for promotion or personal gain.
The user will have their referral codes removed at the least.

Thanks for the reply. I have loads of respect for you Jered.

PS: I signed up for TH yesterday, by clicking someone's signature in this discussion board.

[psyborgue]

I just got an email, not 3 minutes ago, from a person that admits they got all the emails that were posted to the 'net, which came from Mt Gox's database dump.

And then they provide a link to Tradehill using their referral code "TH-R15683."  

Is this genius, or crossing the line?

To me it seems like it's a guy trying to do something good (warning users) and make a few bucks off referral fees on the side (is it wrong to make money?). People don't have to keep the referral code (which he informed people of) and they don't have to donate to his bitcoin address.  When my MtGox account comes back up, I will be donating a small amount to thank him.  Nobody else sent me an email.  Why didn't Mt Gox?

Had I not been paying attention, I might have missed the crisis.  I can see many users out there who might not have changed their passwords, might use them elsewhere, and might have had a lot of things compromised.  The guy did what needed to be done and I don't think he should be punished for asking for a referral.  Maybe filling out the referral field by default was crossing a line for some people, but I just don't see it's that bad.  He wasn't deceptive.  He wrote "(Note: You can remove the Referral Code when registering if you want!)"

[BitcoinPorn]

He wasn't deceptive.  He wrote "(Note: You can remove the Referral Code when registering if you want!)"

He emailed everyone off a stolen list of emails.   Sorry.  No referrals for him imo. 

[PandaMiner]

He wasn't deceptive.  He wrote "(Note: You can remove the Referral Code when registering if you want!)"

LOL.  She was counting on people's tendency to be lazy and just leave it in there.  I'm an internet marketer by trade, and I know how people (re)act in certain cases. 

In effect, (s)he was using the double opt-out approach, where it takes an ACTION to copy the link without the code, or an ACTION to click the link with the code, and then remove it from the input text field. Either way, the user would have to do something to protest / opt out. No action equals default opt-in.

Instead, if (s)he would have used the opt-in approach, then she would have provided a clean link, or no link, just a domain name.  This would be followed by the optional referral code.  The user would have to take an ACTION to opt in to the referral. No action equals default opt-out

As an I.M.er, I have to walk a fine line between genius and spammer. I believe true nefarious people now have access to our emails. I will have to create a new email address now, anyhow.  But this person, was trying to cache in on the calamity by directly spamming their referral link to a laser-targeted audience. (And then has a donation address to boot)