This sort of boggles the mind, but apparently there are people out there - quite a few of them - who actually respond to spam emails. You know the email I’m talking about - the stuff that promises money for nothing, new cures for various ailments and, of course, bigger erections.

According to a recent study by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, half of Internet users have clicked on an email they thought might be spam. And one of every six users has actually responded to a message they thought was spam.

Although a small percentage of the computing population, these numbers still earn a significant enough return on investment to support a booming spam-driven underground economy.

(Also amazing is the assertion that 85-90 percent of all email traffic is considered to be spam or abusive in nature.)

Of course, we have to ask the question of the day: Why would anyone do anything except delete spam?

Here’s what the spam-clickers said:

• Clicked on it by mistake: 17 percent
• Not sure why they did it: 13 percent
• Sent a note to complain about the spam: 13 percent
• Interested in the product or service: 12 percent
• Wanted to see what would happen: 6 percent

Without a doubt, my favorites are the ones who just wanted to see what would happen. I’m sitting here imagining all the trouble people invite into their lives with that sort of curiosity.