godspam

July 12, 2012 8:21 AM

At regular intervals, I get "press releases" from [e-mail]. Full text of one such email below the fold. Is this a joke, spam, art, a trojan or ??

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

San Mateo, California USA - July 2012 - God Allah Announced His Official Millennium Arrival and The Resurrection.

God Allah announced today He is now seeking sponsors for the purpose of The Resurrection. Applicants may apply by email to god @llah.us

Allah states, "I am pleased to update you on My Successful Arrival. I am seeking sponsors, e.g. businesses, organizations, communities, etc. to further the cause of The Resurrection. I want the world to know I love you and am here amongst you. I thank you for your prayers and issue My Press most expediently. I believe although this is an emergency, I advise you to stay calm, pray and welcome Me unto you so I may help you."

For more information please contact [phone] (INTL messages in, USA out), god @llah.us

**********************************

NOTE: Due to communications errors, websites may or may not yet fully resolve. This email updated often.

NOTE: Sub/Unsub link address is http:// LLAH.US ; however, due to the nature of this emergency, links must be typed manually.

NOTE: Due to the nature of electronic communications, it is possible you may have difficulty reaching Allah, e.g. you are offline, therefore, please accept this apology for any communication errors during this interim, moreover, you may edit this press release for your market so long as the intended communication and links resolve. e.g. email, phone number, website, etc., as explained herein.

NOTE: I personally respond within twenty-four hours or sooner. Thank you for your review.

NOTE: Communications in English, please. Message and links updated frequently. Stay alert, Stay alive.

NEW: 10 Commandments Online: THOU.TEL ... click to see.

**********************************

NEXT UPDATE NLT 11 SEP 2012

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posted by Omnomnom to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

As much as I love the idea that God/Allah/the Creator/whoever requires business sponsorship for the Ressurection, I highly doubt He would ask for it in an email. Maybe some kind of cataclysmic event.

So, yes, spam/art/crazy people. Delete as necessary or store for future entertainment purposes. DO NOT INVEST.
posted by fight or flight at 8:30 AM on July 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Joke, certainly. Art? Well, I suppose that depends on your tastes.

I would just block the sender's email address and go on.
posted by Telpethoron at 8:30 AM on July 12, 2012

Response by poster: I guess I am wondering whether there is some kind of viral artsy project behind this (apart from 'inveigl suckers to send money', I mean). I did think it was way more funny and had better spelling than normal spam.

And yeah, I am not tempted to invest, no worries.
posted by Omnomnom at 8:34 AM on July 12, 2012

llah.us is a real functioning web site. It's registered to Allah SWT (of course), who apparently operates out of a P.O. box in San Mateo.

There's a pointer on that page to this page, which isn't particularly illuminating. Putting it all together, I'd come down more on the side of crazy-person spam than art project.

(llah.us has a text box that invites you to "unsubscribe today's mailing". There's no guarantee that entering your email into that box will do any such thing, though.)
posted by flipper at 8:44 AM on July 12, 2012

The phone number, which is in San Mateo, led to a woman's corporate voice mail. Could be someone's revenge.
posted by steinsaltz at 8:45 AM on July 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

THOU.TEL is a real website as well, which is either work in progress or some kind of puzzle.
posted by cincinnatus c at 9:42 AM on July 12, 2012

Thou.tel is a link maze that takes you deeper into the world of Allah:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lahtv
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lahtv
Helpdesk: https://allah.zendesk.com/home

He's either just getting started or not getting traction as there doesn't seem to be a great deal of activity yet.
posted by rocketpup at 11:24 AM on July 12, 2012

Response by poster: He's either just getting started or not getting traction as there doesn't seem to be a great deal of activity yet.

I think I got the first email half a year ago and then three or four more.

Also, googling the email address I found differently worded missives not in the form of press releases. For instance here.

I also found an (empty) youtube account.

So he's been putting in quite some creative work.
posted by Omnomnom at 11:34 AM on July 12, 2012

Just tell your spam filter to block them and be done with it. That's what they're for. If you have a Mac, I highly recommend SpamSieve.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:37 AM on July 12, 2012

God only knows. Could be the next thing in viral marketing, maybe there's a sequel to that terrible movie about the world ending in 2012?

There have been quite a few people trying to cash in on the 2012 thing, this may be simply one more.
posted by yohko at 11:39 AM on July 12, 2012

More: http://trinityholy.info/

This is amazing.
posted by azarbayejani at 12:17 PM on July 12, 2012

I find it really odd that He references the date "31-December-2012 C.E." on that trinityholy site.
posted by CutaneousRabbit at 7:29 PM on July 12, 2012

CutaneousRabbit: C.E. most often means "Common Era," a neutral nonreligious alternative to A.D. (Anno Domini, "in the year of our Lord.") Scientists and historians use it a lot, as well as B.C.E. (Before Common Era).
posted by nicebookrack at 9:47 PM on July 12, 2012

^Which negates the presupposition of a Christian worldview, which is really odd.

Spam, blam, thank you ma'am.
posted by Chutzler at 10:15 PM on July 12, 2012