Most prevalent spam categories for 2005, Sophos reports

According to Sophos, "pump-and-dump" stock scams are on the rise, while porn-related spam is decreasing. But, dangerous new categories of spam are also becoming more prevalent. Sophos has published the results of its research on the most prominent spam categories discovered during the first six months of this year.

"Spam received in its global network of spam traps and analysed by SophosLabs, revealed that stock scams are on the rise, and unsolicited pill or medication e-mail, including generic or non-brand name versions and other pharmaceuticals, accounted for more than 40% of all spam traffic," says Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor, NetXactics.

The top five spam categories were:

1. Medication/pills at 41.4%
2. Mortgage at 11.1%
3. Adult content at 9.5%
4. Stock scams at 8.5%
5. Product at 8.3%
6. Other at 21.2%

Medication and mortgage spam retained their top ranking on the spam charts over the last six months. Unsolicited pornography, still accounting for 10% of all spam, is losing some ground. The increased volume of stock scam spam - increasing at an average rate of 10% per month - is representing a new financial threat to some na"ive online investors.

The primary aim of the pump-and-dump stock racket is disseminate false information about a company`s stock, as well as information from recent press releases, to gullible investors via email, says Myroff. "They typically target microcap stock, then dump their shares and stop advertising the stock. When the price falls, investors lose their money."

These campaigns are low volume and typically run for short periods of time. Some of the information provided might be accurate, but it`s still spam whichever way you look at it due to the deceptive and unsolicited nature of the messages.

Most stock scam spam campaigns use obfuscation techniques, with word variations including "st0ck" or "stox" to bypass spam filters. Messages can also arrive in an array of formats, such as HTML or plain text, and are almost always sent via zombies, or hijacked PCs.

"Social engineering through e-mail, where scam artists take advantage of unsophisticated computer users, is on the rise and represents a dangerous trend," said Brian Burke, IDC Research Manager. "Stock scams, combined with traditional phishing techniques, can result in significant financial loss for victims of these swindles."

Sophos recommends that organisations adopt a multi-layered approach to security as the most effective way to reduce spam and other threats. "Implementing a best practice policy regarding e-mail account usage will also go a long way to curbing these security risks," Myroff says.