Don't Let This Happen to You

Just when we thought the need to exercise care when using an employer's computer for non-work purposes was well ingrained, along comes yet another cautionary tale.

Most media attention that's gone to the now-infamous Craigslist gold digger post has focused on two entities: The initial message's still-anonymous author, a self-described "spectacular" beauty soliciting advice on how to land a husband with an income above $500,000. And, the zinging response it brought from an investment banker who labeled her proposition a bad trade because "your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity."

But the value we see in this exchange lies in the experience of the third party: a JPMorgan banker who carelessly allowed his name and corporate signature to appear on the message when he forwarded it to friends. Eventually, the banker's email – complete with his identifying information -- found its way to Dealbreaker and a host of other finance blogs widely read by his industry peers.

To make matters worse, many of the downstream sites named the JPMorgan banker as the author of the unabashedly sexist, if well-deserved, riposte to the gold digger's plea. A JPMorgan Chase spokesman told the New York Times that the man worked there but was not the author: "He had forwarded the e-mail message to friends, and the signature setting on his e-mail accompanied the response when it wound up on blogs."

There is no indication that the banker has been summarily fired – as was a Bear Stearns analyst in April, just hours after a profile of him appeared in the New York Post (sans last name or employer, but bearing his real photo and real first name). Still, our guess is the JPM banker's career won't be helped by his newfound fame.

The lesson, as summarized by the Times:

“Your workplace computer does not exist as a tool for forwarding jokey things,” said Will Schwalbe, an author of “Send: The Essential Guide to E-Mail for Office and Home.”

We concur. But if you simply can't wait until you get home (or if you're a banker and never get home), then at least do the forwarding from your hotmail or other Web-based email account. That way, your employer's name, your corporate email address and your corporate signature won't be attached to it.

Acquisitive Craigslist Post Reddens Faces All Around [NYT]