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(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 15, 2008 ) Hong Kong - Shutdown of web hosting company McColo results in lower spam volumes
– On November 11, 2008, multiple upstream network providers shut down access to McColo.com hosted systems, based on abuse complaints.
– This resulted in a quick and dramatic decrease in spam sent worldwide. The volume change was measured directly in the Symantec probe network, which saw a 65 per cent drop in traffic when comparing the 24 hours prior to the McColo.com shutdown to the 24 hours after.
Watch out for holiday-themed spams, especially "Christmas".
– Look out for the top 10 holiday spam types and screenshots of several types of spam
– The top ten seasonal spam subject lines observed between October and November 2008 include the following:
1. Â Â Â Â Best Sales 2008!
2. Â Â Â Â Spend less this Christmas
3. Â Â Â Â A Really Good Gift
4. Â Â Â Â Christmas Specials
5. Â Â Â Â Christmas promo few days left
6. Â Â Â Â Gifts for Christmas
7. Â Â Â Â Holiday Luxury Gifts
8. Â Â Â Â Hot Christmas Specials
9. Â Â Â Â Most Affordable Gifts
10. Â Â Â Â Low Christmas Pricing
Image spam making a comeback could spell trouble for unprotected mail infrastructures
-- While image spam has not yet regained the dizzying heights of 2007 (when 52 per cent of all spam was image spam), in November 2008, image spam hit a maximum of 10 per cent of all spam messages.
-- By analyzing image spam in November 2008, Symantec notes that over this period:
- 13.3 per cent of image spam had a message size greater than 100kb
- 57.5 per cent of image spam had an average size of between 10kb-50kb
Mumbai terrorist attacks bring out the worst in spammers
- India recently witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks in Mumbai with hostage situations involving Indian and foreign nationals.
- This incident was also being followed closely by spammers who recently sent spam messages with subjects referring to the Mumbai attacks. The content of these messages were offering medication.
- This spam technique of using recent tragic news events has become a staple tactic for spammers
Other Report Highlights:
Spammers Continue to Conduct Their Own U.S. Presidential Spam Campaigns
– As President–elect Obama prepares for the beginning of his presidency, spammers continue to remind us that their presidential spam campaigns are not over.
– As John McCain ceded the election, spammers issued a new malicious code spam attack which included the subject line “Obama Wouldn’t Be First Black President.”
– The message noted that Barack Obama had been elected the 44th President of the United States. Recipients were encouraged to click on a link to, “Watch His amazing speech at November 5!” However, clicking on the video player downloaded malicious code.
Spammers Maintain “Acquaintance” With the IRS – in November!
– January to March is traditionally the time when taxpayers in the US become reacquainted with their tax advisers as the mid-April “tax day” deadline looms. Unfortunately, this period has also become a time when phishing directed towards the IRS becomes more prevalent.
– However this month Symantec we observed a phishing attack using the IRS brand, five months before the next deadline for individual taxpayers.
– This phishing email indicated that the recipient was eligible to receive a tax refund and directed them to a website where the refund would be processed.
– The fraudulent site, branded with the IRS logo, is being used as a collection tool for credit card and other personal information.
CanÂ’t Read English? Ecco lo Spam Italiano!
– You may have come across multilingual translations of your favorite book or movie. It’s a good way to extend one’s work to a wider audience and spammers are employing a similar tactic for their campaign.
– Recent spam messages observed by Symantec included a work from home scam attack which offered a job that involved relaying payments between banks.
– Initial English language spam attacks were soon followed by an Italian version within a space of ten days.
Casino Spam Rolling Higher
– In recent weeks, Symantec has observed an increase in messages promoting online casinos, typically offering a cash bonus or VIP treatment.
– Leisure spam has accounted for up to 10 per cent of spam globally during early November.
Emma Jenkins
Account Manager
EBA Communications Ltd
Reaching the people who matter
Tel: +852 2122 9761 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Fax: +852 2537 3012
emma.jenkins@ebacomms.com     www.ebacomms.com
Symantec Corp.
Emma Jenkins
+852 2122 9761
emma.jenkins@ebacomms.com 
Source: EmailWire.com
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