3 ms·

I think the solution here would be to write a hand-written letter. Sure, someone can make AI write a letter with some kind of contraption holding a pen (I thin

I think the solution here would be to write a hand-written letter. Sure, someone can make AI write a letter with some kind of contraption holding a pen (I think StuffMadeHere did something adjacent to this). But it would likely be more obvious, plus it requires physical actions and a stamp. All things that low-effort AI spammers aren’t going to bother with.

cricalix 8mo ago
Physical letters do not obviate scams, nor is the cost that prohibitive. I remember actual 419 scams on blue airmail all-in-one letters back in the 80s. And that was international post too.
- AlecSchueler 8mo ago
  Think of it like changing your SSH port. It does nothing to prevent scams per se but you'll have to deal with only 0.00001% of them.
  - skeeter2020 8mo ago
    If you build an analogy based on what I get in my mailbox it's more like publishing your email on the internet.
- riffraff 8mo ago
  They don't remove it but they do reduce it. I have an inbox, and I do not receive a lot of scam post. In fact, I don't think I received any since I lived at this address (~10 years ). We do get a few promotional leaflets every other week. OTOH, I get hundred of spam emails every day. The former is something which I can handle manually easily, the other is not.
- Freak_NL 8mo ago
  If you are targetting a list of well-known authors I guess outsourcing the writing of a couple of hundred handwritten letters shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure they they can find a school class in Nigeria or Kenya who would gladly do it for a few dollars — or a struggling teacher willing to get creative with the homework assignments.
  - onetokeoverthe 8mo ago
    [dead]
- tristramb 8mo ago
  It doesn't have to prevent the scam completely, it just has to make harder for them to scam you than it would be to move on to scam someone else.
miki123211 8mo ago
Or something like European E-Deliveries. They're "physical letters but digital," tied to a human identity and with proper proof of receipt.
cube00 8mo ago
One of my college lecturers only had a physical address on their webpage. Contact me: letter > envelope > stamp > post box
jjkaczor 8mo ago
Uh - there are entire political lobbyist organizations that use something similar to an "autopen" to make mass letters personalized and appear to be handwritten... Heck - I have seen some in the mail from the "sell your house for cash" companies - typically behind the friendly, "homespun" personable facade, it is a REIT (real-estate investment trust) - or something similar... (Myself, I can tell that these are mass-generated - but I am (at least also at this point in life - who knows when I get much older) easily able to tell a scam email, phone call or txt-type message - I can typically spot the signs - but those signs are typically there to "weed-out" the people that won't fall for the scam anyways...) - but my non-cynical, non-technical, non-paranoid friends and family need assistance spotting these...)
tristramb 8mo ago
I think it is a good general principle that, for any process that is likely to be a tempting target for scammers, you should require a non-electronic step to initiate that process. Requiring a physical letter of application for a job, for example.

cricalix 8mo ago

Physical letters do not obviate scams, nor is the cost that prohibitive. I remember actual 419 scams on blue airmail all-in-one letters back in the 80s. And that was international post too.

AlecSchueler 8mo ago
Think of it like changing your SSH port. It does nothing to prevent scams per se but you'll have to deal with only 0.00001% of them.
- skeeter2020 8mo ago
  If you build an analogy based on what I get in my mailbox it's more like publishing your email on the internet.
riffraff 8mo ago
They don't remove it but they do reduce it. I have an inbox, and I do not receive a lot of scam post. In fact, I don't think I received any since I lived at this address (~10 years ). We do get a few promotional leaflets every other week. OTOH, I get hundred of spam emails every day. The former is something which I can handle manually easily, the other is not.
Freak_NL 8mo ago
If you are targetting a list of well-known authors I guess outsourcing the writing of a couple of hundred handwritten letters shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure they they can find a school class in Nigeria or Kenya who would gladly do it for a few dollars — or a struggling teacher willing to get creative with the homework assignments.
- onetokeoverthe 8mo ago
  [dead]
tristramb 8mo ago
It doesn't have to prevent the scam completely, it just has to make harder for them to scam you than it would be to move on to scam someone else.

miki123211 8mo ago

Or something like European E-Deliveries. They're "physical letters but digital," tied to a human identity and with proper proof of receipt.

cube00 8mo ago

One of my college lecturers only had a physical address on their webpage. Contact me: letter > envelope > stamp > post box

jjkaczor 8mo ago

Uh - there are entire political lobbyist organizations that use something similar to an "autopen" to make mass letters personalized and appear to be handwritten... Heck - I have seen some in the mail from the "sell your house for cash" companies - typically behind the friendly, "homespun" personable facade, it is a REIT (real-estate investment trust) - or something similar... (Myself, I can tell that these are mass-generated - but I am (at least also at this point in life - who knows when I get much older) easily able to tell a scam email, phone call or txt-type message - I can typically spot the signs - but those signs are typically there to "weed-out" the people that won't fall for the scam anyways...) - but my non-cynical, non-technical, non-paranoid friends and family need assistance spotting these...)

tristramb 8mo ago

I think it is a good general principle that, for any process that is likely to be a tempting target for scammers, you should require a non-electronic step to initiate that process. Requiring a physical letter of application for a job, for example.