Thursday, August 6 12:00 AM ET

Spammers Promising More to Boost Sales

By Brian Briggs follow me on Twitter.

The Internet - Spammers too are feeling the pinch in these tough economic times, and have had to resort to even more exaggerated claims to entice buyers.

Alexi Radamov, who sells penis enlargement medications, said, "It used to be I would get orders if I claimed a 3-inch increase, but now I'm having to claim 2 to 3 feet of increase to get any takers."

Another spammer, Stephen Cox said, "My herbal supplement used to keep men hard for hours, now it's weeks. Even I have to wonder about the veracity of that claim. A lot of people don't though."

Despite the dangers of having a weeks-long erection, many men are still avoiding the embarrassment of asking their doctors for an erectile dysfunction medicine. "I usually pass on these types of deals, because a 8-hour erection just isn't enough for me. Do you know how much sex I could have, if I had an erection for weeks and knew women who would have sex with me?" said pill buyer Victor Smallwood of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Penis product makers aren't the only ones having to change their pitch. Awi Tagakangi of Nigeria runs 419 scams through email. "It takes more than an uncle who was a prince, now I've gone to claiming that I'm the son of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and have access to all the cash in the Federal Reserve," said Tagakangi.

These hard luck stories from spammers indicate that only the most desperate are willing to part with their cash.

About the only spammer who has actually changed their products to match their newly exaggerated promises is Hal Winton. Hal sells weight loss medications through an online pharmacy. "I now tell people they can lose 90% of their body weight in under 5 minutes with these pills. I've had to switch to a pure cyanide formula to be sure it works," said Winton.

The stock of erection enhancement drugs were up on the news.