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Spam Surges as Valentine's Day Nears

Date: February 11, 2009
Source: businessweek.com


Valentine's Day has long been a gold mine for florists, candy makers, restaurateurs—and spammers. Every February, junk e-mailers send out millions of messages allegedly promoting holiday getaways or last-minute gifts for that special loved one. In the days leading up to the holiday this weekend, the amount of spam is spiking again, anti-spam experts agree.

This year, however, many spammers looking for ways to score clicks are going back to basics. According to Symantec (SYMC), the anti-spam company that has been monitoring Valentine's-related spam traffic this month, the most popular type of spam this season tends to focus on one of the old favorites of the spam industries, appealing to men and their insecurities. "This year the top three types of spam tend very much to be related to what we call 'male capabilities,'" says Michael Chue, managing director for Hong Kong and Taiwan at Symantec. While he doesn't have data yet available on the amount of such spam, Chue says "in the last couple of weeks we can see this type of spam increasing."

Are men, hurt by the worst global downturn since the Great Depression, more vulnerable to this sort of junk e-mail? Chue won't speculate, although he does point out spammers are typically very sensitive to the free market. "The statistics tell the spammers these are very popular," he says.
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