Irish Spam Messages Touching New Height

The Internet security firm 'Symantec' has released its December 2009 State of Spam report in which it has found that the Irish-language spam mails are on rise.

Symantec state that people speaking Irish fluently sometimes identify spam mails written in this language. The reason is - when some sentences are translated into English, they turn out to be incorrect sentences as the basic sentence construction is wrong. This suggests that the original message must have been in English and spammer translated them into Irish before sending to people.

In this connection, Symantec has referred to a sample spam mail in its new report. The e-mail states that if the recipient is interested in purchasing some electronics items, he may go to this website.

Amanda Grady, Principal anti-spam Analyst at the response center of Symantec in Dublin (Ireland), said that the 2002 census showed that 42% of Ireland's population could speak Irish. This implied that several hundred thousands could be targeted by the particular scam. Further, 80% of the total e-mail actually account for spam, making it a truly worldwide problem, said the analyst, as reported by Rte.ie on December 18, 2009.

Grady added that spammers were becoming smarter by using free online translators. They were targeting new audiences by crafting e-mails in their local dialects.

Symantec therefore suggests users like in the current instance to delete spam mails after reporting them. Additionally, it recommends that users should not follow suspicious web-links in IM messages or e-mails. They should manually enter URL addresses directly inside their browser rather than clicking on e-mail links. They should ensure for up-to-date operating systems and an all-inclusive security package on their computers.

Finally, Symantec forecasts that during 2010, spammers will keep on using the URL-shortening tactic and rely on free Web-hosting services. The latter's use by spammers could harm the good name of certain services. spammers are likely to keep on advancing blended e-mails that include tempting consumers to purchase a service or good, with increasingly malicious and even perilous activities like phishing.

Related article: IRS Cautions Taxpayers of Recent Email Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 12/31/2009