SPAM

What is Spam?

• Spam emails are unsolicited commercial messages often sent to many recipients. People who send spam, known as spammers, make money by sending spam emails. Legislation governing spam is getting tougher in many countries such as the USA. According to our latest figures, spammers are outsourcing to places such as China and India, which are fast becoming major sources of spam.

• Types of spam can vary widely. One of the most popular types of spam is “pump and dump”, where the spammer is promoting cheap penny stocks promising a rise in value. The spammer, who has already bought the stock cheap, quickly dumps it on the market and makes a profit.

• Another infamous type of spam is the 419 fraud email. These emails take the format of a letter written by an individual who is trying to transfer a large sum of money out of their country. Typically the individual in question asks for the recipient's help to do this with the lure of a large sum of money as a reward.

• Whatever the title, we can all identify spam when we see it, and none of us want it in our inbox.