In the past few weeks, I have received dozens of messages from many different people claiming that they "sent you photos on Tagged" or that they “sent you a private message on Tagged." Then these e-mail messages ask, "Want to see the photos?" or “Want to read the message?” I now receive four or five of these messages a day.
In most cases, I have never heard of these people, and I certainly couldn't care less about their pictures or their private messages. A quick search on Google produces the answers, however. It seems that Tagged is a questionable business that surreptitiously steals address books from people and sends e-mail messages to everyone in that address book. Someone apparently had my e-mail address in their address book when they visited Tagged.com, and my e-mail address was stolen and then used without the knowledge of the hapless victim.
A quick search on Google produces links to hundreds of e-mail messages complaining about Tagged.com. You can see those for yourself at http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=tagged.com+complaints&aq=0&oq=tagged.com+complaint.
Most of the messages state something similar to the following:
"I received an e-mail from a friend where it asked me to join Tagged.com. Since it was from my friend, I opened it up and it immediately attached itself to my Yahoo addresses and sent out e-mails to them asking them to join. When I contacted my buddy whom I got it from, he stated that it happened to him as well which is why I got it."
The Better Business Bureau reports "Based on BBB files, Tagged Inc. has a BBB Rating of F." That's the lowest rating the BBB gives. Details are available at http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/video-production-services/tagged-inc-in-san-francisco-ca-187485.
Wikipedia.org states, “Tagged has had numerous consumer complaints lodged against it for its practices, and is regarded as a phishing and spamming site by consumer anti-fraud advocates”
Searching Google is an interesting experience. I found that Tagged.com has raised 7 million dollars in venture capital, so this is definitely not some small-time operation from a third-world country.
The owner of Tagged.com should know better. Prior to Tagged, Greg Tseng was Co-Founder and CEO of Internet incubator Jumpstart Technologies. In March 2006, Jumpstart Technologies settled with the FTC on alleged violations of the CAN-SPAM Act, which included a $900,000 fine but no admission of guilt. The fine apparently hasn't changed his business practices.
I fired up my Linux system and visited Tagged.com. I used Linux because that operating system is impervious to most viruses and other malevolent software, although not necessarily impervious to everything. Still, I felt safer visiting a potentially malevolent site using Linux than with any other operating system. Even better, my Linux system doesn't have an address book.
I spent some time looking around the site. It looked a lot like Facebook or any of several dozen other social networking sites. However, a quick look at the site's Terms of Service was revealing:
E) Notice Regarding Commercial Email
MEMBERS CONSENT TO RECEIVE COMMERCIAL E-MAIL MESSAGES FROM TAGGED, AND ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THEIR EMAIL ADDRESSES AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED BY TAGGED FOR THE PURPOSE OF INITIATING COMMERCIAL E-MAIL MESSAGES.
Yes, the Terms of Service used upper case on that one paragraph. When new users add their information, they are asked if they agree with the Terms of Service. I wonder how many people ever read those words? When a new user joins the service, they are agreeing that “their email addresses AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION may be used by Tagged for the purpose of initiating commercial e-mail messages.” “Commercial e-mail messages” is a euphemism for spam.
The company describes itself this way: "Tagged.com is the premier social networking destination for the Millennial Generation and an ideal place for advertisers who are trying to reach the teen market. Tagged provides a fun, safe, and exciting environment for teens to showcase their personalities and talents, and to connect with friends and meet new ones. Tagged maintains this great environment by only allowing teenagers to register on the site."
That bit about teenagers is particularly bothersome. First, I am quite a bit beyond my teenage years, and yet I am receiving this junk. Next, if the service targets youngsters, it is trying to sell advertising to some of the least knowledgeable and least sophisticated audiences available.
Tagged may or may not be a social networking site, but it uses obnoxious advertising methods. Even worse, it steals your personal information and uses your information to send spam to your friends. Still worse, those messages have forged return addresses showing that the messages were from you! I cannot imagine any legitimate business ever using Tagged.com to attract new customers.
Should you ever receive any message that mentions Tagged, I suggest you immediately click on DELETE. Do not click on YES and do not click on NO. The only reasonable option is to click on DELETE.
Next, you might do what I did a few minutes ago: I set up a filter in my e-mail program that searches for message titles that contain the words "sent you photos on Tagged" or "sent you a private message on Tagged." If those words are found on any incoming message, that message is instantly moved to the Trash folder. I will never see those messages any more.
Sleazy businesses like this should be banned from the Internet.
Thanks for this info. Received what I thought was a message from a nephew via Tagged and couldn't figure out how to open it. Hopefully I didn't get into it but will set up a filter in my e-mail program. Gratefully, SM
Posted by: Sylvia | June 08, 2009 at 01:13 AM
Agreed. Each the "Tagged" messages I received came from the UK. I know those whom they indicated sent the messages and considered that, since they've not sent me messages like this before, they should promptly be deposited in my Recycle Bin. Then I emptied the Recycle Bin!
Happy Dae·
Posted by: Dae Powell | June 08, 2009 at 02:01 AM
Thanks for that, Dick. I have been trying to decide whom to ask about this.
Posted by: Israel Pickholtz | June 08, 2009 at 02:38 AM
Thank you! Along with your incoming mail came a "Tagged" letter from a cousin. Unfortunately I read it and hit "view" - but did not sign up. I hope that they won't steal my address book just by my hitting "view". I immediately set up the filter you suggested.
Many thanks again!
Martha
Posted by: Martha Lev-Zion | June 08, 2009 at 02:43 AM
You spent a lot more time on that than I did. When I saw the people the "invitations" came from, I was immediately suspicious. I've been filtering them out for a week or so. Luckily, only a few people who are susceptible to this type of phishing scheme have my e-mail address in their books.
Posted by: GrannyPam | June 08, 2009 at 04:51 AM
After reading this article, I immediately went to my Yahoo mail and clicked on Options for Filters. I got this message:
Pardon our appearance during construction
We're still tweaking the Yahoo! Mail Filters option. Temporarily you'll need to access it through the Yahoo! Mail Classic interface. But, rest assured, any changes made will take effect once you've reloaded the Yahoo! Mail.
Mail Classic is a subscription interface. Will I be charged for accessing the Mail Filters option through Mail Classic, even temporarily? How should I contact Yahoo? What do you think?
Posted by: Shirley Pizziferri | June 08, 2009 at 06:22 AM
Thank you. This information was extremely useful!
Posted by: Kathy Tarullo | June 08, 2009 at 09:07 AM
Thanks for the Heads Up on Tagged.
I've also received nessages saying so and so kissed me, or so and so sent me a.....
i just delete them all.
Bob Barnes
Perry Hall, Md.
Posted by: Bob Barnes | June 08, 2009 at 09:22 AM
And if anyone hasn't received one, I got a communication via Ancestry Connections from a bogus contact with Tagged. It happened to be a family name used that this message was supposedly from. It struck me as odd, so I checked in my tree and then did a little sniffing around about Tagged and figured out that it was bad news. I sent Ancestry a note tagging this "contact" as spam with a note to Ancestry. I haven't heard back from Ancestry yet, though I am sure they are probably being inundated with like spam reports. But bottom line, watch out for this. I was surprised that it got to me as Ancestry has been, up to this point good about screening spam out of Family Contacts. Clearly the people behind Tagged must be desperate to build their business to resort to such techniques to build their customer base
Posted by: Bob M. | June 08, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Actually, Tagged *does* ask for permission to read your address book so that it can send invitations. But do people actually read the request, or do they just click through to the next step?
Of course, we all have Dick's email address in our address books, so he probably gets lots of these messages. I personally only get them about once every ten weeks -- but then, I'm obscure by design. ;-)
Posted by: Alan Crawford | June 08, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Thanks for letting us know about this. I unfortunately recognized the name of the person they referenced in their email and did click on it, so I'm hoping all my friends won't be getting these annoying emails. I appreciate knowing what's going on with them, and I agree...they should be banned!
Posted by: Joyce | June 08, 2009 at 12:38 PM
I was helping my niece and told her about Tagged. She belongs to this group. You should see the emails she gets from being a Tagged member. Sure hope she doesn't get my email on her list.
Thanks for telling me about this. I delete them.
Posted by: Louise D | June 08, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Shirley--
Yahoo! Mail Classic is simply a fancy name for Yahoo! Mail as it was before they reworked the looks of their Mail application and addded some new features about 2 years ago. Many of us didn't like having to adjust to the new "look" and some of the substantive changes, and said so; as a result, Yahoo! evidently decided that "discretion was the better part of..." and retained the "old" Yahoo! Mail as an alternative, to which they gave a new name, "Classic." It is no more by "subscription" than the "All-new" version. Those of us who began with the "old" Yahoo can click back and forth between the two with no problem; I'm not sure whether folks who began with the "new" version have that option. But if you do, there should be no charge, as Yahoo! is free. [It is "Yahoo! Plus" that incurs an annual fee for its no-ads policy, bigger permissible message sizes, and other features.]
Posted by: Gary | June 08, 2009 at 05:37 PM
Unfortunately for Facebook now, the word "tagged" is used in Facebook to indicate where one's friends have posted a photograph containing another's image. Facebook sends a message, to all "friends" of that "tagged" person who are linked together, that, "'So-and-so' (or, You) has/have been tagged by 'other so-and-so'". For instance, in this way I found, and was able to download, several photos taken on Easter of my granddaughter at university, for which I am very grateful. Those cropped photos of her face will eventually go into her portrait scrapbook in my Family Tree Maker. I hope Facebook users will realize the difference between these photo links and Tagged.com.
Posted by: Joy Chichester | June 08, 2009 at 08:38 PM
I've been getting e-mails sent to me with my e-mail address as sender. I wonder if this could be the same as Tagged although I haven't seen that name. After the first one or two I have been just deleting and now have my own address designated as Spam. Luckily I don't often send myself e-mails and I do review Spam before deleting.
What a waste of our time and energy; it's like computer graffiti.
Charlotte
Posted by: Charlotte Easter | June 09, 2009 at 04:23 AM
Sure wish I had read this earlier. Got one of those 'friend invites you to join' and I wanted to stay in touch with this friend. Didn't read the 'rules' and I've been really TAGGED in a nasty way. Is there somewhere we can complain? This is sure a sleazy business.
Posted by: Sharon Zingery | June 09, 2009 at 12:43 PM
I too got caught by Tagged. I'm new to Facebook if you can believe that but until I retired recently I didn't have time to fiddle with these social sites. I thought this was just another part of facebook. The 'tagged' message I got was from a friend I had lost touch with about 5 years ago. I e-mailed her directly [after I realized the tagged messages were bogus]. She sent me her phone # and we've been in touch a few times. She's living back in Mass. and we will definitely get together soon. I don't know how many in my e-mail address book got tagged because of this and I really do apologize to everyone. I should know better than to open one of these. I am thrilled though that it got me back in touch with my friend.
Posted by: Pauline | June 09, 2009 at 03:20 PM