A new one on me:
Received spammy email claiming, “Hello Rebecca,
I hope you don't mind a fellow Tushnet reaching out. I have
a permit which states that WW Express did some work at [your home].
Could you tell me how it went? … I'm helping a new homeowner
find a professional for her project, and I was hoping you could share your
experience with me before I make any recommendations….
Best,
Brooke Tushnet
Customer Success | VetMyPro
C: 23097051
BP: 55181251”
I am fairly sure that there is no “Brooke Tushnet” in the
world. Instead, this message is creepily
and misleadingly leveraging our tendency to be more helpful to people “like
us.” (On this and other tactics, Robert
Cialdini’s books Influence and Pre-Suasion are very good.) To what end, I’m not sure, but I can’t help
feeling misused. I even tried to find
this potentially long-lost relative, just in case! Also, VetMyPro lacks any internet presence
beyond its own website. Now I’m becoming
concerned about spyware!
At least there's a vague chance that another "Tushnet" might be a relative. I get messages nearly every day attesting to the difficulty barristers in Nigeria and elsewhere seem to have in finding anyone in the world named "Brown" who can inherit their client's estate...
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