A reader sends us a question:

From: Bill
To: clistdating.com
Subject: Craigslist spam.
I was replying to an ad placed by a fradulent person on Craigslist's dating site. I noticed it was fradulent after I got the response. It seemed real at first, until I saw them trying to get me to click on the link for another dating website, which was an immediate red flag. My question is will they start hounding me with spam? I sent them my picture since most legitimate Craigslist dating ad placer request that. Will they also use my picture, or did they just want me to click the link and will disregard my e-mail address and pic? No, I didn't click the link.

Bill, each spammer has the same goal in the end, to make money, but what all they do to get there is different. Most of the time your picture is irrelevant to them and they only want you to follow the link that was sent. The ad is sometimes contrived by the spammer and sometimes it is a real ad that was just copied. I will say as a side note that I do not ever send my picture in the first email even if the ad says, "no pic, no reply", and it doesn't make a difference; they reply to me anyway. Most women write that because they see it in other ads and mimic what they see.

Some of the spammers DO sell the email addresses or use them for future spam, but, MOST of the time it is a one shot deal. You reply, you get the spam and you never hear from that particular spammer again, unless you reply to another of their ads. I recommend that you create an email address JUST for replying to the ads. If you get a legit response, then you just reply from your other email address.

What do you have to add?