At the time, spam email was becoming increasingly problematic and no real tools existed to effectively combat it. In 2001, the SpamAssassin spam-filtering platform was first uploaded to SourceForge by creator Justin Mason. MAPS collected a list of malicious IP addresses, which became known as the Real-time Blackhole List (RBL), and used this list to block unwanted emails. The organization’s mission was to pioneer anti-spam techniques. That year Dave Rand and Paul Vixie, two well-known software engineers, founded the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS). In 1996, anti-spam activists recognized the serious problem that spam email had become, and began taking action to combat it. Since the early 1990s, the prominence of spam email steadily grew until 2014, at which point it was estimated that spam email accounted for over 90% of all email messages sent. As the Internet gained popularity, spam email became increasingly unavoidable and profitable for attackers. History of Spam EmailĪlthough the first spam email was sent in 1978 to several hundred users on ARPANET, email spam emerged as a serious problem in the 1990s when commercial use of the Internet became possible. Aside from the fact that it is extremely annoying, spam may contain malicious links or attachments and is often a vector for other serious attacks like phishing and malware. Regardless of its purpose or origin, spam email should be recognized as a serious threat. The majority of spam email is commercial in nature, and since the expense of a phony message is borne mainly by the recipient, spam can be viewed as postage due advertising. Although statistics show that spammers only receive one reply for every 12,500,000 emails sent, spam email remains a profitable business model due to the astronomically large number of phony messages sent per day. According to Statista, spam messages accounted for an alarming 56% of email traffic in March 2019. This notorious email threat got its name from Spam lunch meat, which has a reputation of being ubiquitous, repetitive and unavoidable. Spam email, or junk email, refers to unsolicited messages sent in bulk. But are you aware that spam email that reaches your inbox can have potentially serious consequences for you and your business? What is Spam Email? Never send money or personal info to someone who claims you won a prize or sweepstakes.If you are an email user, chances are you’ve experienced the aggravation and decreased productivity associated with spam email. Never send money or personal info to someone you met online. Never send money or personal information to strangers. Learn more about tips to avoid COVID-19 scams.īeware of messages that seem too good to be trueīeware of messages or requests that seem too good to be true. Tip: Beware of scams related to COVID-19, which are increasingly common. To find out if the message is authentic, contact the relevant authority directly. Scammers often pose as authority figures to request payment or sensitive personal information. Authority figures, like tax collectors, banks, law enforcement, or health officials.Use the contact info you normally use to communicate with them. To find out if the message is authentic, contact your friend, family member, or colleague directly. Scammers often use social media and publicly available information to make their messages more realistic and convincing. People you trust, like a friend, family member, or person from work.Scammers use emotion to try to get you to act without thinking.įor example, beware of urgent-sounding messages that appear to come from:
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