This column originally appeared 9 January 1997.
Spammers make the best fantasy enemies.
They violate personal email inboxes and bombard newsgroups, wasting people's time and money. The things they sell are worthless at best, and are often illegal Ponzi schemes. Spammers are as single-mindedly avaricious as any Aaron Spelling villain. In fact, it's hard to believe they're real people. Because spammers work their cons anonymously, hiding behind forged email addresses and working out of PO boxes, our imaginations can run wild about what they look like.