More Spam But More Anti-Spam Fight
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007|
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Ponemon Institute made a conclusion for more than 125 separate studies and the conclusion is: the amount of spam is getting bigger and it becomes more sophisticated. However the same report reveals the other side of spam: people give away their personal information easily.
It’s not a big surprise to hear that the bad guys work day and night to get around spam filters, to create more convincing spam messages, to put malicious code into places you don’t expect it to be. But wait, do people subscribe spam voluntarily? It’s sad, but it’s true: according to Ponemon Institute, people fill in surveys or lottery blanks and register on disreputable websites without reading the terms printed in small letters. Keep in mind that some of those surveys can be made only to gather private details that contain email address. Sometimes the terms clearly state that the collected information will be used by the third parts. If a person fills in form without minding who can use his/her data, you can’t really blame the scammers. The collected personal information is highly valued among telemarketing companies; those email addresses make advertising simple and cheap. Even if you don’t want to unsubscribe Viagra spam, you should still think at least twice before giving away your details. Your social security number, birth date or even full name can be used to steal you identity. And information like your hobbies, brand preferences and purchase history can be used to attack you with a specific type of spam that you can not refuse. (more…)
