Spam Landscape Shifts a Bit
Symantec recently released its “The State of Spam” monthly report for February 2009, which showed that the U.S. is losing a bit of ground to other countries in terms of being a region of origin for spam.
While the U.S. remained the biggest region of origin for spam messages in January, responsible for 23 percent of all worldwide spam messages, it reflects a 3 percentage point decline.
“It is expected that the overall share of spam originating from the United States will continue to decline over time as more people around the world come “online” in the 21st century,” the report noted.
Brazil ranked second, responsible for 10 percent of the world’s spam messages in January, followed by China with 7 percent, India with 4 percent and South Korea with 5 percent.
Russia was sixth, responsible for 4 percent of the world’s spam messages, followed by Turkey with 3 percent, Argentina with 3 percent, Taiwan with 3 percent and Colombia with 2 percent, according to Symantec.
The Products category was the most spammed in January, accounting for 23 percent of all such messages, followed by Health with 20 percent and Internet with 19 percent.
Financial was fourth with 12 percent, while Leisure trailed with 9 percent and Adult followed with 7 percent.
From October 2008 to January 2009, Symantec has noticed that the Products category has seen a 4 percent boost in spam messages, while Health and Leisure each saw a 3 percent boost. Meanwhile, likely because of the overall economic downturn, the Financial category saw a 5 percent decline.
Symantec highlighted a trend that is already well-known: post-McColo shutdown levels of spam are reaching levels before the short-lived victory as spam messages account for more than 79 percent of all e-mail messages.
The report also listed the top 20 Valentine’s Day-related spam subject lines for January. They are:
1. Increase your length, the best valentine’s gift
2. Show off your length for valentine’s
3. Get it before Valentine’s day and watch her smile
4. You have been invited to partake in a shopping spree with [Removed] This Month for
Valentines!
5. Happy Early Valentines Day, You have been selected to go on a $1000 Shopping spree to
[Removed]
6. The Best Valentines Day Present Ever…
7. Your Valentines Day is about to get a lot better
8. Enjoy your Valentines Day with a Grand Cash from us =)
9. [Removed] invites you to take a $1000 shopping spree for Valentines Day
10. Great watches for your Valentine
11. Redeem Your Valentines Day Gift!
12. Buy a pair of watches for Valentine’s Day
13. Free Shipping! Plus, Save on Valentine’s Day Gifts
14. Make your Valentine happy with the perfect timepiece
15. Show the love. Give [Removed] this Valentine’s Day.
16. Give a timepiece to your Valentine to keep track of time together
17. Valentines Day Approaching… Don’t Miss Out on Our $1 Jewelry Auctions
18. Lose excess weight by valentine’s day
19. An Erotic Valentines Gift
20. Need A Valentines Gift?
Symantec’s monthly spam report also touched on the topics of Chinese New Year-related spam, Inauguration Day spam, Russian spam, gambling-related spam based on Macau, where gambling is legal in China, and the introduction of the tracking of Nigerian or 419 spam.
http://www.symantec.com/business/theme.jsp?themeid=state_of_spam
