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'Spear Fishing' Spam on the Rise, Study Says

by Lee Bains on December 18, 2008 at 04:48 PM



Research has found that personalized spam, or 'spear phishing,' is on the rise, reports USA Today.

The study, conducted by Cisco Systems, has found that spammers, using personal information stolen from the Web, are increasingly tailoring spam messages to particular victims. Often, due to their containing pertinent subject matter and being sent in relatively small dispatches, these messages sneak through e-mail providers' spam filters. This more personalized form of spamming has seen similar success on social networking sites.

According to the study, as many as 800 million of these 'spear phishing' messages are sent every day. While spam numbers have been on the overall decline lately, spear phishing has become an increasingly large percentage of what spam remains. Making up only 0.1-percent of all spam last year, this stealthier form now comprises 0.4-percent, quadrupling in percentage in just 12 months.

But fear not. With the help of a discerning eye, a strong, regularly updated spam filter and regular visits to our spam alerts, you should be just fine. [From: USA Today]

Tags: safety

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