A tech founder takes to social media to call out what he describes as the “worst cold ever” e-mail” he had received. The subject line of the email was radical: “Your family will die.” ” Once the email is opened, it becomes clear that it is a sales pitch for an artificial intelligence tool. The viral post sparked a serious discussion about the ethics of automated sales promotion and the line between standing out in your inbox and digital harassment.
“Worst cold email I’ve ever received. WT*,” wrote San Francisco founder Emir Atli. He shared a screenshot purportedly showing the email he received.
The subject line of the email read, “Your family will die…” The email continued, “It would be embarrassing if you didn’t take advantage of this incredible offer! This week only, we’re offering 50% off for new users [name redacted] Al. “
The message added, “Want to make a quick call to learn how we can simplify running your B2B SaaS business?” It was signed by a man named Brett.
Social media reaction:
This post is by Founder It sparked a backlash on social media, with many users denouncing the practice as outrageous and unacceptable.
One person said, “AI companies are desperate.” Another added, “The subject line alone should be a felony. Zero research, zero personalization, just empathy and threats. The best cold emails I’ve seen mention something specific about the recipient’s business in the first line. If you can’t do that, you’re not qualified to email them.”
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A third said, “Answer the call. Ask him to tag along. Hint at a massive corporate deal. Ask him to personally oversee it. Then ghost… ghost after ghost.”
A fourth person wrote: “This guy 100% saw the ‘See You in the Epstein Dossier’ thing that went viral a while back and thought it was a good idea.User X mentioned an email received by an Indian CEO. Harshdeep Rapal, founder and CEO of Legitt AI, received an email with the subject line: “Your name is in the Epstein file.” The email turned out to be an attempt to get his attention. “Your name is in the Epstein file,” read the subject line of the email. The text clarified, “Hello Harshdeep, just kidding, I want you to open this email.” The sender said they were studying at IIT Hyderabad.
