Almost a third of all emails are phishing scams

It is now estimated that almost a third of all emails are fake / scam / phishing emails - see: How to avoid phishing scams.

These scammers often use exploited machines to send these emails so please be sure to keep your computer software up-to-date and protected with current firewall and anti-virus software!

Make sure you are up to date

A huge amount of spam is actually sent from standard PC's connected to the Internet that have been exploited / compromised.

Make sure you:

1. Keep your computer software up-to-date and periodically check for updates manually as well as waiting for your computer to tell you.

2. Are protected by a firewall - ideally on your router and your computer - but at least on your computer.

3. Keep your anti-virus and spyware software up-to-date - plus schedule frequent scans.

4. Periodically scan your computer with another spyware scanner.

5. Do not run / install software from untrusted sources - this includes browser plug-ins etc.

6. Consider using a different web browser - Internet Exporer is the most popular browser and most people try and exploit this one. Other browsers like Opera or Firefox could be an option to consider.

USA largest source of spam

Almost one in four (over 23%) of spam detected in July originated in the US.

China came second with 20% and South Korea third 7.5%. After those were (in order of worst to best): France, Spain, Poland, Brazil, Italy, Germand, United Kingdom, Taiwan and Japan.

Of course with any figures it is also important to consider the number of machines and total volume of email sent!

Phone phishers targetting PayPal

Phishers have been targetting online payments provider Paypal by sending emails to say Paypal accounts have either been suspended or they have noticed unauthorised activity.

When the number is called the user is prompted to enter their account / credit card details - for more details see this posting from Sophos.

Spam control servers located in Taiwan

A survey by CipherTrust has estimated that almost two thirds (64 per cent) of servers controlling spam traffic are located in Taiwan (in second place was the US with 23% and then China were third with around 3%).

These servers are typically used by spammers to control and relay spam and phishing emails through zombie or compromised computers.

Kodak photo sharing fined for spamming

Kodak's Imaging Network (formerly Ofoto) has been fined for sending 2 million messages in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act - typically by failing to include a valid opt-out process or a valid physical postal address.

The fine and settlement between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Kodak Imaging Network also prohibits future violations of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Turn off auto return receipt acknowledgement

Some spammers put a 'delivery' or 'read' receipt request in their emails. If your email program (or mail server) automatically confirms these receipt requests you will just be confirming your address is valid = MORE SPAM.

We would recommend you either turn this feature off or if your email program supports it make sure it is set to 'prompt' first before sending.

Phisher jailed for 4 years

A British man who ran a six-man phishing gang that stole nearly £200,000 has been sentenced to four years in jail. David Levi (aged 29) from Lytham near Blackpool stole bank account information from more than 160 users of the eBay auction website.

Other members of the gang received jail sentences of between six months and two years.

The gang set up a false website posing as the real eBay website then sent phishing emails to internet users leading them to the website where they then stole their identities and bank / payment details.

Spammers send bird flu malware

Spammers are now distributing a trojan (Naiva-A) pretending to be a Word document with information about the bird flu epidemic to try and trick users into viewing it.

However, once run the trojan executes two Word macros to run and install another program (Ranky-FY) onto the now infected machine which gives hackers the ability to control that computer.

So as always be careful what attachments you run and ensure your anti-virus / anti-spyware software is up-to-date.

Spam email selling Tamiflu

We have seen a large increase in spam mail offering to sell Tamiflu (an anti-bird flu drug). The emails try and direct you to online pharmacy sites but many of these are purely scams to try and get credit card details and other personal information.

So as always our advice is - NEVER BUY FROM SPAMMERS!