No wonder the spam keeps coming

From the Los Angeles times, via Yahoo! News, an interview with a 419 scammer; choice quote:

He sent 500 e-mails a day and usually received about seven replies. Shepherd would then take over.

“When you get a reply, it’s 70% sure that you’ll get the money,” Samuel said.

That’s roughly a 1% success rate for each spam mail. Goodness gracious, this isn’t just lucrative, it’s a flippin’ cash cow. No wonder the tide of spam runs ever higher.

And it really gives you an appreciation for, uh, the average intelligence of people. I wonder if any attempt to stem the tide can be successful under such preconditions.

8-ball: My reply is no.

Via Justin Mason.