Another 18 percent of respondents have tried to unsubscribe to spam using the "unsubscribe" link in the e-mail. This isn't any better than clicking on links embedded within spam messages, since many spammers exploit the unsubscribe link to identify active e-mail accounts. Once individual e-mail addresses or entire domains are found to be active, the likelihood of follow-on spam or other security attacks increases dramatically.
We only have ourselves to blame for spam e-mail. Since it costs basically nothing to send out huge volumes of spam messages, the fact that 10 percent of recipients are purchasing products advertised in spam is clearly continuing to drive the economics of the spam industry. It's called bad e-mail behavior.
"This preliminary data is surprising and somewhat shocking to us," said Marcel Nienhuis, market analyst at the Radicati Group, in a news release announcing the survey findings. "It explains why e-mail security threats including spam, viruses, and phishing scams continue to proliferate. Major advancements in technology approaches that routinely achieve 90 percent plus catch-rates are becoming widely available, yet no technology in the world can protect an organization if users' exercise bad e-mail behavior."
Fun facts about spam (Yes, there is something fun about spam):
- In Japan, almost half of all e-mail users actively express their displeasure with spam by sending the spammers angry replies, reports The Associated Press.
- Australians say receiving spam e-mail is more stressful than visiting the dentist, sitting in traffic jams, or Christmas shopping. But they did acknowledge that moving into a new house or going on a first date are both more stressful than unwanted e-mail, notes AP.
- Most spam e-mail is about money, drugs, and sex. Spammers favor using sexually explicit terms and will often deliberately misspell a word or use digits instead of letters to try to bypass anti-spam software, reports the BBC News.
