Symantec: spam 72% of all e-mail traffic

Posted on Sunday, December 16 2007 @ 1:05 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

Figures on spam seem to vary widely. Last week there was a report which claimed it was 98% of all e-mail traffic but this week Symantec reports its 'only' 72%.

Symantec monitored 450 million inboxes worldwide in November and reports about some of the highlights:

• Penny stocks use Thanksgiving holiday captions in subject line – spammers using common personal Thanksgiving-related words in the subject of emails
• Replica products a favorite for spammers this holiday season – replica gear has always been a spammer favorite. Spammers are marketing their wares using seasonal words in the subject lines of their mailings
• Spam begins to snowball – spammers collecting email addresses by using a funny .gif that shows a snowball hurtling at you through your computer
• Christmas freebie anyone? – spammers taking advantage of the season to market "free" gift cards for well known companies
• Seasonal lotto scams - in a scam targeted at UK end users, spammers have updated a lottery spam email for a Christmas Bonanza special

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

Loading Comments

Share this story!