The mysterious time travel spammer is at it again. Since November 2001, this strange character (who some think is certifiably crazy) has been mass-emailing deadpan requests for time travel equipment (e.g., a 'mind warper generation 4 Dimensional Warp Generator #52 4350a series wrist watch with z80 or better memory adapter'), sometimes offering a sizable cash reward for information leading to a 'reliable vendor' of same. In the past few weeks a fresh torrent of messages flooded the Net.

Although he has hidden his identity behind a variety of fake names and email addresses, some sources believe the man behind the spam (who has at times referred to himself as 'Robby' and 'Bob White') is actually notorious 'Net marketer' Robert Todino of Woburn, Massachusetts — a theory bolstered by a set of geographical coordinates specified in some versions of the message: N 42.47935, W 071.17355. (See also: Strange rendezvous in Woburn.)

The whole phenomenon is a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma, but what puzzles people most is the motivation behind it — what is this guy trying to accomplish? One reader contacted me insisting it's a scam, citing two defunct eBay auctions (here and here), both of which offered, for minimum bids of $300 and $500 respectively, 'Mind Warper Generators' precisely matching the spammer's specifications.

'If you are fooled by the text in the message,' my correspondent writes, 'you may say to yourself, where can I find one of these? You may think to yourself, "Hell, if they'd pay me $5,000 for a lead, what would they pay for the real deal?" Note the two for sale are completely different looking beasts that wouldn't fool the savvy folks, but hoaxers aren't after the savvy.'

Nice analysis, but how do we know who's scamming whom? Maybe the auctions were posted by an entirely different party; maybe they were an attempt to scam the spammer; maybe their intent was purely satirical.

Update | Examples of Time Travel Spam | Discuss