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January 05, 2006
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Spam offering mortgage, loan and financial deals was the most prevalent type of spam for the third quarter in a row however, it was a smaller percentage of the spam received compared with the previous quarter - falling from 33% to 21%. Second on the list sprung up various pornographic offerings, making up over 18% of the total spam received, a large increase over the previous quarter where it languished in fourth position. Next was the continued trend of emails attempting to 'phish' recipients' banking details with spurious claims of Lottery wins and online gambling accounts (up from 12.5% to 16%); this was followed by a new entry in fourth place -- gift cards offering bogus discounts at online stores. In fifth place were unwanted emails offering various types of medication (down from 18% to 12%).
1. Mortgages and Loans - 21% - (Non Mover)
2. Pornography - 18% - (Up from number 4)
3. Lottery/Gambling - 16% - (Non Mover)
4. Gift Cards - 16% - (New Entry)
5. Medication - 12% - (Down from number 2)
"Although users are becoming more knowledgeable in their approach to spam, the Spammers remain one or more steps ahead. The rise in phishing Spam is the most worrying, as this is often quite sophisticated - and has the highest financial repercussions for users, as ID theft is fed through such scams. It is of massive importance that users have suitable email anti-spam capabilities in place, while companies also begin to look at SPIM (Spam over Instant Messaging) and SPIT (Spam over IP Telephony) as well," said Quocirca analyst Clive Longbottom.
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