Bernard Shifman

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Bernard Shifman gained widespread notoriety for spamming various and sundry mailboxes (20,000+) with his résumé over the period of 2001–2002.

A typical spam email would contain the following, along with his résumé included as an attachment:

My name is Bernard Shifman and I'm a computer consultant. I'm interested in contract work. My resume is attached to this e-mail in Microsoft Word and HTML format. If you or any of your business associates are in need of a computer consultant, please keep my number and resume as a possible starting point.

It is not clear how Shifman obtained his list of email recipients; he apparently only targeted company-based mailboxes (as opposed to personal mailboxes).

Contents

[edit] Exposure

Shifman sent his usual email to Neil Schwartzman, a Quebecois private citizen, in November 2001. Unfortunately for Shifman, Schwartzman ran an email abuse information clearinghouse. Instead of deleting Shifman's email, Schwartzman contacted Shifman's ISP, complaining about his spamming activities. What followed was a war of words where Shifman would threaten Schwartzman, first with legal action and later with harassing phone calls and obscenity-filled email.

Schwartzman responded by creating a website where he detailed the exchange along with copies of the email he received from Shifman. The website eventually gained such extensive exposure on other popular net-centric sites (Wired, Slashdot, kuro5hin, WWdN, etc.) and mainstream media (Chicago Tribune,[1] Montreal Gazette, and Washington Post) that now a Google search of Shifman's name returns Schwartzman's site as the number one result.

[edit] Current status and whereabouts

As a result of his exposure by Schwartzman, it is possible that his employability was hampered during the period of his notoriety. His current employer and employment status is unknown.

His once-owned DNS name (shifmanconsulting.com) no longer refers to his business (as of 2006, it was owned by a domain squatter). According to the Illinois Corporation Search page, Shifman Consulting, Inc's status as of Jan 3, 2005 is "Dissolved." The last action taken on that date was "Involuntary Dissolution."

Shifman's last reported physical location is in the city of Northfield, IL, USA (at least as of August 27, 2003). His current location is unknown.

Due to a dearth of any current news, it is likely that Shifman no longer engages in résumé-spamming activities.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chicago Tribune Christine Tatum Column. Christine Tatum. Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. Washington: Jan 20, 2002. pg. 1

[edit] External links

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