Spam clogs the Web

By Staff Writer for Symantec
Johannesburg, 23 May 2008

Up to 87% of all e-mails sent last month were spam, says Symantec.

In its May spam report, the Internet security vendor noted that 23% of spam pushed products, 17% were financial, 16% were Internet-related, 12% were scams, 10% were leisure-oriented, 9% involved health issues, 7% were attempts at fraud such as phishing or spoofing, and the remaining 6% were "adult".

New trends highlighted in the report include the ongoing abuse of reputable brands to deliver spam and phishing messages to end-users. "In April, phishing e-mails purporting to come from the Google AdWords service emerged," the report says.

Google AdWords allows advertisers to intelligibly connect with individuals who search using Google.

In the Google AdWords phishing samples that emerged, the end-user is encouraged to click on a link to update their billing information and/or renew their account.

"The link in these phishing e-mails leads to a fraudulent Web site where personal information is requested and harvested," Symantec warns.

"As security companies and the Internet community pay more attention to the reputation of Web sites and e-mail senders, spammers are doing their best to hide behind well-established and reputable brands like Google," the report adds.

Other emerging trends include the exploitation of personal and professional networking sites to harvest personal information that could be used for identity theft and could fuel future spam attacks by inviting recipients to the "inner circle" of such a network.

"Spear phishing", or targeted phishing, also became more prevalent in the US, with the targets receiving summonses to appear before a Federal grand jury. The e-mail also instructs the recipients to download a document related to the case. Those doing so also received a keystroke-logging Trojan.