Another Silly Idea: Fullfil the spammers dreams
Posted by Ian Holsman
This is one of those ideas which I’d love to see implemented, but would only work if implemented on a mass scale.
That is for every spam you get you click through the link and through each link on the referring page. (not you .. a bot which looks like you)... we could even hook up some free VOIP services which would call the 1-800 numbers advertised on them as well.
Why?
Well spammers usually get paid on a pay per click/pay per referral model. They get something everytime someone visits their page.
While in the (very) short term you would think it would make the spammer rich, it will actually destroy his business in the long run, as his clients don’t get the return (as you have raised to cost of acquiring the customer), and will force them to lower their rates.
This is similar to what is happening with Blue Nile where it is seeing the price it is paying for search terms is too high, and is therefore leaving the market.
Is it click fraud when you do it to a spammer(s)?