The first spam message was sent in 1864

For as long as people have been finding new and innovative ways of communicating with each other, others have been finding ways of abusing that method of communication. In 1864, the first spam message was sent through the telegraph, which was the precursor to what we see as a phone today. The messages were simple, asking wealthy Americans to part with their hard-earned money with dubious investment offers that promised massive returns on large investments.