I was in the Sandy / Draper area this morning on some business, and happened upon a teeming colony of "Single?" signs that was of such repellently large proportion that I was compelled to stop and visit it with death. Forty of these things in less than a half mile radius! I took an (admittedly crappy) picture of their MO - this shot is of fourteen signs in a row. The cunning logic is clear: if I'm single and I see just one or two signs, I might think about signing up - but hey, if I see fourteen signs in a row, well then I'm going to go find an internet cafe PRONTO and sign up THIS INSTANT. Brilliant. Browbeat your message into people; convey a sense of urgency. To up the ante, maybe the company could hire packs of bored teenagers to huck water balloons imprinted with "Single?" at passing cars.

A pox on this _______Singles.com company. I actually wish it harm.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

Every two weeks here. I sometimes get over 120 of them in a single day.

http://tinyurl.com/oukdop

Let them know how you feel...

Thanks for the link; I'll be certain to express my heartfelt wishes.

Wow, 120 in one day - and I was proud of my forty. I did pull those out in about ten minutes though, and if I'd had more time, I'm sure I could have netted maybe double that.

Does anyone know, definitively, how these signs get placed? My guess is that the company represented on the signs is generally not the one actually placing them. Are there sign placement businesses that cater specifically to the needs of companies that want to run a street spam campaign? Maybe the same shops that are printing them for a turnkey solution? Or does the spammer company hire independent contractors to place the signs for them?

I know this is the case with something like Herbalife, where the signs are placed by "independent self-acutalized globally empowered agents" or whatever the latest obfuscation is. I'm sure Herbalife loves the indemnity they get from the independent actions of all their little spammers. "Gee, we didn't know our distributors were placing signs on utility poles! Herbalife cannot be held responsible..."

I've gotten up to 200 of these in a single day in Murray, Utah, last year.

Sheesh, you guys are setting some pretty lofty records. 200 in one day - you are the man. I'm not sure I could fit that in my trunk! That must have been a great feeling, like getting your teeth scaled. You'd feel so fresh and so clean.

I wish this business had a local office; I have a fantasy of caching several hundred signs, then driving over there at night and dumping them in front of their front door. I'd disable all the signs first with spray paint, so they couldn't use them for a re-deployment. Maybe that would get the message across about how we feel about this detritus in our community! Shmucks.

You ask, How do they place?

I'm guessing they are independent contractors off craiglists, but not sure.

One Sunday morning here in Vegas, I followed this guy putting up single .com signs along our nice freeway entrance and exit ramps. He put up about 10-20 per interchange. This went on for 5 exits.

After his last stop where he had a long walk to get to his car, I got a look inside. From the visual clues, he looked like he was taking a college course at our nearby community college. If I remember right, it was for AutoCad design not to be confused with Auto Repair.

I never saw his signs again. I think he quit spamming after learning the hard lesson it doesn't pay. Not sure if he quit school too.

wevl

Huh - interesting, thanks pops. Hopefully the guy learned a lesson.

Has anyone ever seen Craigslist ads recruiting road spammers? Or any other recruitment ads for that matter? I'm just curious as to how the businesses obtain willing minions to do their nefarious bidding. I can't imagine most businesses do this in ignorance (of the pertinent laws, that is) but I'd surmise they're not exactly forthcoming with the illegality of sign placement when they pitch to people looking for a career upgrade from McDonald's.

<<Has anyone ever seen Craigslist ads recruiting road spammers?>>

Lots of ads; there used to be many, but now only a few ever get posted. Gulfshark just posted a request for removal help on this thread link:

http://www.causs.org/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=5240&mesg_id=5240&page=&topic_page=14

Here's a link to a local NEWS organization exposing these people.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/illegal.outdoor.signs.2.645883.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/dating_services/great_expectations.html

That's interesting info SpamShark, thanks.

In the meantime, I answered my own question in part by doing some Google searches, which yielded several turnkey sign placement outfits. Here's one:

http://www.thesignbandits.com/

I thought it noteworthy that this business has embraced the term "bandit sign." This seems to be a tacit admission of culpability since "bandit" implies illegality of some kind.

I've seen the presumed owner of this business post on other forums, and he's completely unrepentant about the nature of his services, and seems very determined to continue with it in spite of the applicable laws. Anyone have any ideas about how we could apply some hurt to this business? It seems that as he is offering and promoting an almost universally illegal service, something could be done, but I'm not sure what or how to do it.

Concerning the bandit sign company, read the Denver thread, and the Chandler thread.

http://www.causs.org/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=15&topic_id=2517&mesg_id=2517&page=

http://www.causs.org/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=154&mesg_id=154&page=

Let’s all monitor this guy’s posts anywhere on the Internet, then post the links here.

Also, if you want to compile information concerning organizations to complain to and start a new thread in the general section, that will be a good start. It will take a little time, but well worth it.

Many readers here will be happy to complain to authorities if provided an email address, telephone number, and name of organization, ECT...

CE and the district attorneys office in his city of operation should be the main information collection points so authorities nationwide can access it.

It would be good if someone would contact CE and the DA, then post a contact name and phone number here. The more phone calls and complaints, the better.

Anyone reading this is welcome jump in and kick this off.

Thanks much for the links and additional info. Here's a forum where I saw Greg post:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/03/crackdown-on-ba.html

Fascinating, is it not, that he claims to have discovered a method for placing signs while avoiding issues with the authorities? Unless he's placing recycled, biodegradable signs that dissolve into organic fertilizer in the first heavy rain, I can't imagine what that method might be. Probably it's that he exploits poor college students and economically struggling workers to do his dirty work, thus helping HIM avoid personal confrontation with the authorities.

I found another business specializing in bandit signs:

http://www.banditsigns.net/

I would be more than willing to participate in submitting complaints and the like, but I lack the free time to really spearhead this project, unfortunately. I do think it is a great idea to do as much as possible to shut these shmucks down. If I might invoke a cliche: an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, and it will always be more effective to go after the businesses that place the signs than to remove the signs themselves.