How do you know when your sport has made it to the big times? A clear sign is when spammers are using your sport to try to scam you.

Over the past 24 hours, I have been getting reports of quite a few people in the kayaking community getting the posted email below.

If you get the spam, please ignore it as seems to reek of a ripe Nigerian Email Scam. A quick search on Google of the phone number brought up several different blog postings with the same person looking to pay nicely for chess, sewing and sailing lessons.

So pat yourself on the back and congratulate each other for being there when kayaking truly hit the big times. It’s a story you will want to remember to tell your grandkids and easily on the same level as your grandfather’s story of being there to see Babe Ruth play his first game.

Below is the email that's going around:

Greetings!
My name is Benjamin Spencer. I would be coming into the country with my Greek friends for a one month holiday/vacation. As part of our plan we would be happy if you could organize a one month training session/classes for us.

ARRIVAL DATE: 27TH JULY 2009
DEPARTURE DATE: 24TH AUGUST 2009
NUMBER OF PERSONS: 6
LEVEL: 2 INTERMEDIATES AND 4 BEGINNERS
NUMBER OF HOURS NEEDED: 2 TO 3 HOURS EACH DAY (MONDAY TO SATURDAY)

What are your charges per session/hour?

Please kindly confirm the booking for 27TH JULY 2009 TO 24TH AUGUST 2009. As soon as I receive your confirmation I will be making a deposit of 1,000 pounds via my credit card details. This is to fully secure the booking with you. Hope you accept credit cards?

Please send a confirmation to this email IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL (NOT as an attachment please).

Regards
Benjamin Spencer
260 Upland Road
Selly Park
B25 3J
UK
Phone: (0) 7011121989

Image Credit: Crunch Gear

Funny