Spammers Learn to Outsource Their Captcha Needs

lukeknipe writes "Guardian Unlimited reporter Charles Arthur speaks with a spammer, discussing the possibility that his colleagues may be paying people in developing countries to fill in captchas. In his report, Arthur discusses Nicholas Negroponte's gift of hand-powered laptops to developing nations and the wide array of troubles that could arise as the world's exploitable poor go online." From the article: "I've no doubt it will radically alter the life of many in the developing world for the better. I also expect that once a few have got into the hands of people aching to make a dollar, with time on their hands and an internet connection provided one way or another, we'll see a significant rise in captcha-solved spam. But, as my spammer contact pointed out, it's nothing personal. You have to understand: it's just business."

Comments

Re:A long-time problem

[Anonymous Coward]

The thing about these whingeing crips is that they already get a fucking fortune off the taxpayer and handouts from charities, and meanwhile it's the rest of us who have to suffer (think: fucking stupid unsightly ramps attracting brats on skateboards and roller saktes, crap push taps that piss excessive amounts of water to waste, and so forth). They should just quit whingeing and spend some of their\rieht/our money hiring some cunt to carry them up stairs / help them turn taps / read captchas / whatever.