They start out so friendly and they end up so bossy. What’s with that? (This is a job for Wolfram Research.)

I received an email with subject line, “Information on the Pathological Liar Article is Great. Can We Collaborate?”

This got me curious so I clicked, and this is what came up:

Hi Andrew,

My name is ** and I work for ** (an online mental health startup).

I just came across your site and loved your page on Pathological liars I have known – very insightful, thank you for sharing. We have recently published an article about Pathological Liar and it contains unbiased information on its definition, signs, characteristics, and more!

Our articles are well researched, written by licensed therapists, and reviewed by medical doctors. Our site features no banner ads or sponsored content. We also recently received our HON certificate to ensure you are linking to high-quality content.

Would you be able to add a link on your page to our article as an additional resource?

I look forward to hearing from you irrespective of your decision, would love to connect and see if we can do any future work together! :)

Kind regards,

And the email contained this delightful coda:

The information contained in this transmission may contain privileged and confidential information, including patient information protected by federal and state privacy laws. It is intended only for the use of the person(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution, or duplication of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by replying to this email and destroy all copies of the original message.

They start out so friendly and they end up so bossy. What’s with that?

Seriously, though, this sort of spam just makes me so sad, the way it appropriates the language of sincerity. I guess his person can always find a job at a place like Wolfram Research or anywhere that scamming academics is a priority.

But I’m a Freud expert so not so easily fooled! Amusing in any case that, in a post on pathological liars, someone is . . . lying.