: Spam

[victor steinbok]

I don't think it's any more common than it was 10 or even 15 years
ago. We are now more aware that specifically this kind of situation
exists and have more tools to combat it, but I don't think that it is
any more pervasive than it was in 1995, 2000 or 2005. Most of us have
far larger email address books than we used to, so the probability of
one of our friends being guilty of failing to protect his computer is
higher, but this does not mean that /overall/ the infections are more
widespread.

The "Help, my wallet was stolen!" is a new type of phishing message
that is just as easily adaptable to social networking sites (I've seen
it repeatedly on Facebook), so it also might be more noticeable than
the classic stand-bys. But this is just six of one, half-a-dozen of
the other. More people means higher probability of such hacks getting
through. But it does not mean that there are proportionately more of
them.

VS-)

On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 2:30 PM, Robin Hamilton
<robin.hamilton2 at btinternet.com> wrote:
>
> Or a hacked or phished mailbox and contacts list.  This seems to be becoming
> commoner, even with anti-virus and other security software in place.
>
> The most effective seems to be a "personal message" saying to the effect,
> "Help!  I've had my wallet lifted in Edinburgh [or wherever].  Please send
> some money urgently and I'll pay you back when I get home."
>
> Tailored spam, who needs it?  If I believed some of it, I'd be seriously
> worried about the security of my online accounts.  And how many I seem to
> have that I don't remember ever setting up!
>
> Robin

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