Symantec December 2008 State of Spam Report
"Image spam making a comeback could spell trouble for unprotected mail infrastructures..."
(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 15, 2008 ) Hong Kong - Shutdown of web hosting company McColo results in lower spam volumes
– On November 11, 2008, multiple upstream network providers shut down access to McColo.com hosted systems, based on abuse complaints.
– This resulted in a quick and dramatic decrease in spam sent worldwide. The volume change was measured directly in the Symantec probe network, which saw a 65 per cent drop in traffic when comparing the 24 hours prior to the McColo.com shutdown to the 24 hours after.
Watch out for holiday-themed spams, especially "Christmas".
– Look out for the top 10 holiday spam types and screenshots of several types of spam
– The top ten seasonal spam subject lines observed between October and November 2008 include the following:
1. Best Sales 2008!
2. Spend less this Christmas
3. A Really Good Gift
4. Christmas Specials
5. Christmas promo few days left
6. Gifts for Christmas
7. Holiday Luxury Gifts
8. Hot Christmas Specials
9. Most Affordable Gifts
10. Low Christmas Pricing
Image spam making a comeback could spell trouble for unprotected mail infrastructures
-- While image spam has not yet regained the dizzying heights of 2007 (when 52 per cent of all spam was image spam), in November 2008, image spam hit a maximum of 10 per cent of all spam messages.
-- By analyzing image spam in November 2008, Symantec notes that over this period:
- 13.3 per cent of image spam had a message size greater than 100kb
- 57.5 per cent of image spam had an average size of between 10kb-50kb
Mumbai terrorist attacks bring out the worst in spammers
- India recently witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks in Mumbai with hostage situations involving Indian and foreign nationals.
- This incident was also being followed closely by spammers who recently sent spam messages with subjects referring to the Mumbai attacks. The content of these messages were offering medication.
- This spam technique of using recent tragic news events has become a staple tactic for spammers
Other Report Highlights:
Spammers Continue to Conduct Their Own U.S. Presidential Spam Campaigns
– As President–elect Obama prepares for the beginning of his presidency, spammers continue to remind us that their presidential spam campaigns are not over.
– As John McCain ceded the election, spammers issued a new malicious code spam attack which included the subject line “Obama Wouldn’t Be First Black President.”
– The message noted that Barack Obama had been elected the 44th President of the United States. Recipients were encouraged to click on a link to, “Watch His amazing speech at November 5!” However, clicking on the video player downloaded malicious code.
Spammers Maintain “Acquaintance” With the IRS – in November!
– January to March is traditionally the time when taxpayers in the US become reacquainted with their tax advisers as the mid-April “tax day” deadline looms. Unfortunately, this period has also become a time when phishing directed towards the IRS becomes more prevalent.
– However this month Symantec we observed a phishing attack using the IRS brand, five months before the next deadline for individual taxpayers.
– This phishing email indicated that the recipient was eligible to receive a tax refund and directed them to a website where the refund would be processed.
– The fraudulent site, branded with the IRS logo, is being used as a collection tool for credit card and other personal information.
Can’t Read English? Ecco lo Spam Italiano!
– You may have come across multilingual translations of your favorite book or movie. It’s a good way to extend one’s work to a wider audience and spammers are employing a similar tactic for their campaign.
– Recent spam messages observed by Symantec included a work from home scam attack which offered a job that involved relaying payments between banks.
– Initial English language spam attacks were soon followed by an Italian version within a space of ten days.
Casino Spam Rolling Higher
– In recent weeks, Symantec has observed an increase in messages promoting online casinos, typically offering a cash bonus or VIP treatment.
– Leisure spam has accounted for up to 10 per cent of spam globally during early November.
Emma Jenkins
Account Manager
EBA Communications Ltd
Reaching the people who matter
Tel: +852 2122 9761 Fax: +852 2537 3012
emma.jenkins@ebacomms.com www.ebacomms.com
– On November 11, 2008, multiple upstream network providers shut down access to McColo.com hosted systems, based on abuse complaints.
– This resulted in a quick and dramatic decrease in spam sent worldwide. The volume change was measured directly in the Symantec probe network, which saw a 65 per cent drop in traffic when comparing the 24 hours prior to the McColo.com shutdown to the 24 hours after.
Watch out for holiday-themed spams, especially "Christmas".
– Look out for the top 10 holiday spam types and screenshots of several types of spam
– The top ten seasonal spam subject lines observed between October and November 2008 include the following:
1. Best Sales 2008!
2. Spend less this Christmas
3. A Really Good Gift
4. Christmas Specials
5. Christmas promo few days left
6. Gifts for Christmas
7. Holiday Luxury Gifts
8. Hot Christmas Specials
9. Most Affordable Gifts
10. Low Christmas Pricing
Image spam making a comeback could spell trouble for unprotected mail infrastructures
-- While image spam has not yet regained the dizzying heights of 2007 (when 52 per cent of all spam was image spam), in November 2008, image spam hit a maximum of 10 per cent of all spam messages.
-- By analyzing image spam in November 2008, Symantec notes that over this period:
- 13.3 per cent of image spam had a message size greater than 100kb
- 57.5 per cent of image spam had an average size of between 10kb-50kb
Mumbai terrorist attacks bring out the worst in spammers
- India recently witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks in Mumbai with hostage situations involving Indian and foreign nationals.
- This incident was also being followed closely by spammers who recently sent spam messages with subjects referring to the Mumbai attacks. The content of these messages were offering medication.
- This spam technique of using recent tragic news events has become a staple tactic for spammers
Other Report Highlights:
Spammers Continue to Conduct Their Own U.S. Presidential Spam Campaigns
– As President–elect Obama prepares for the beginning of his presidency, spammers continue to remind us that their presidential spam campaigns are not over.
– As John McCain ceded the election, spammers issued a new malicious code spam attack which included the subject line “Obama Wouldn’t Be First Black President.”
– The message noted that Barack Obama had been elected the 44th President of the United States. Recipients were encouraged to click on a link to, “Watch His amazing speech at November 5!” However, clicking on the video player downloaded malicious code.
Spammers Maintain “Acquaintance” With the IRS – in November!
– January to March is traditionally the time when taxpayers in the US become reacquainted with their tax advisers as the mid-April “tax day” deadline looms. Unfortunately, this period has also become a time when phishing directed towards the IRS becomes more prevalent.
– However this month Symantec we observed a phishing attack using the IRS brand, five months before the next deadline for individual taxpayers.
– This phishing email indicated that the recipient was eligible to receive a tax refund and directed them to a website where the refund would be processed.
– The fraudulent site, branded with the IRS logo, is being used as a collection tool for credit card and other personal information.
Can’t Read English? Ecco lo Spam Italiano!
– You may have come across multilingual translations of your favorite book or movie. It’s a good way to extend one’s work to a wider audience and spammers are employing a similar tactic for their campaign.
– Recent spam messages observed by Symantec included a work from home scam attack which offered a job that involved relaying payments between banks.
– Initial English language spam attacks were soon followed by an Italian version within a space of ten days.
Casino Spam Rolling Higher
– In recent weeks, Symantec has observed an increase in messages promoting online casinos, typically offering a cash bonus or VIP treatment.
– Leisure spam has accounted for up to 10 per cent of spam globally during early November.
Emma Jenkins
Account Manager
EBA Communications Ltd
Reaching the people who matter
Tel: +852 2122 9761 Fax: +852 2537 3012
emma.jenkins@ebacomms.com www.ebacomms.com
Contact Information:
Symantec Corp.
Emma Jenkins
Tel: +852 2122 9761
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
Symantec Corp.
Emma Jenkins
Tel: +852 2122 9761
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
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