system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are there so many spam links, specifically to sex sites? Do they actually work? Who is the ultimate benefactor?

I run a website and get hundreds of spam comments that get caught in our filter. Most of it sound like completely random websites and I have a feeling they don't get many clicks.

If this is a profitable way to advertise, what exactly are they selling? What's the end game? Where does the profit come from?
gpt
It costs virtually nothing to send an email. A small fraction of a cent. If one in a million people clicks the link they make money. Especially because...

Most of these 'sex sites' are just pirate porn sites with malware. They don't want to sell you porn (though they may take your credit card number), they want to infect your computer and take it over. Often to make it part of a botnet or steal your money or extort you.

So they need one in a million people to click on "HOT NAKED CHICKENS!" so they can steal their credit card number and charge 200$ on it.

Some other scams do other things, like the 'Nigerian prince' scams. These people don't *WANT* you to contact them if you aren't a complete idiot because then you are wasting their time (because if you aren't a moron or in elderly decline you won't go through with wiring them the money...)