Spam emails promising significant financial gains to recipients have doubled in prevalence over the past month, while traditional themes such as pornography and gambling are gradually disappearing.
Clearswift, a UK-based company, has reported on three types of online scams via spam that are most prevalent this month. The first type involves emails asking the recipient to transfer a certain sum of money to an international bank account in exchange for a commission. These funds often have dubious origins, such as being withdrawn from an account that has been successfully phished.
Alternatively, “experts” in credit card fraud will use stolen account information to purchase goods online and then seek individuals to deliver these items to them. Recipients of such emails who agree to participate may face imprisonment for the crime of distributing illegal goods.
The third type of scam involves “penny stocks.” Because they are inexpensive and less known, the price of these stocks can double if the spammers manage to trick a few individuals into buying. By that time, they will sell off their shares, causing the price to plummet.
In contrast, spam related to pornography has halved in October, the infamous 419 scams have also seen a decline, and the encouragement of gambling is nearly nonexistent. “For spammers, online scams are also a way to make a living. They are driven by money, and if one method does not work, they quickly find another approach,” explains Alyn Hockey, Research Director at Clearswift.
T.N. (according to VNUNet)
