Klez and social serendipity

So, I just got an email from someone I do not know; we’ll call her R.D.. It turns out she received an email from “me” offering congratulations. Of course, it was simply a random Klez (or kin) subject, and a spoofed email reply address. But since I had received it from her, a real human being, I felt obligated to reply and let her know it was a worm.

Wouldn’t it be great if those who received email via such a virus took the opportunity to get to know the other person. Naturally, because of the way social networks work, we often know the putative source of a message. But in this case, I did not. I propose that when you receive a Klez (etc.) virus message, instead of cursing the person you know is an MS Outhouse (aka Lookout, aka Outlook) user and who has been infected for months, send a note like this one to the source of the letter (after, of course, removing any attachments):

Dear X,

You do not yet know me, but I received a virus with your name on it. I know it was not from you. We share a common friend or associate, though I am not sure whom. I like dark chocolate, margaritas and the breeze just before sunset. Since we have one person that links our lives, perhaps we can get to know one another well enough to find out who that person is.

Klez would become the personals ad of the 00s.