Stupid Magilla Watch: Please Pass the Drool Bucket

Last week, we poked fun at the results of a study claiming that pump-and-dump spammers can make as much as 6% on their investment with each blast.

“The advertised stocks rise an average of between 4.9% and 6% the day after spam goes out, according to findings by Professor Laura Frieder of Purdue University and Professor Jonathan Zittrain of Oxford,” we wrote.

“According to Frieder and Zittrain, a ‘really effective’ pump-and-dump spammer can get a return of 6%,” we wrote. “Folks, these are mutual fund returns,” we continued in our usual wise-assed tone.

Shortly after last week’s issue of Magilla Marketing went out, David Harris, president of DRH Internet—who, unlike us clearly has an IQ above room temperature—sent an e-mail pointing out that we were comparing proverbial apples to oranges.

“You are incorrectly comparing a 6% return in one week to a 6% return over one year,” he wrote and then offered us a polite math lesson.

Eric Hook, vice president of marketing for Shar Music, chimed in a little while later with his own math lesson, writing: “At the end of Day 1 (Monday), your scammer has sold off his investment, and now has $10,600 to invest for another 6% return on Tuesday - by the end of the week he has $13,382, assuming he runs a new scam each day. By the end of the month its up to $32,000.”

D’oh!

Incredibly, not once did either Harris or Hook use the word “idiot” in their communications with us.

Thank you, David and Eric, for being kinder than we deserve. We’re going to go crawl back into our hole now.