What is Spam?

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: instant messaging spam, Usenet newsgroup spam, Web search engine spam, spam in blogs, wiki spam, Online classified ads spam, mobile phone messaging spam, Internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, and file sharing network spam.

Spamming remains economically viable because advertisers have no operating costs beyond the management of their mailing lists and it is difficult to hold senders accountable for their mass mailings. Because the barrier to entry is so low spammers are numerous and the volume of unsolicited mail has become very high. The costs, such as lost productivity and fraud, are borne by the public and by Internet service providers which have been forced to add extra capacity to cope with the deluge.

List of Spam Parasites:

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» Private Message Awaits
"Private Message Awaits" email is a spam email that pretends to be sent by your AIM.com friends. The "Private Message Awaits" email attempts to get you to purchase a solution to your erection problems. The email may contain the following text:"Personal Message You've got ...
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» HSBC Security Improvements
HSBC Security Improvements is a spam email that pretends to be from HSBC Bank informing you that your HSBC account is about to be suspended. The email will link to a malicious website that will attempt to try to trick you into revealing your login information. ...
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» "Your account has been violated!" Wachovia
"Your account has been violated!" Wachovia is what many refer to as a classic phishing email. The "Your account has been violated!" Wachovia email states that your Wachovia account needs to be restored, and links users to a web page where cybercriminals attempt to record your ...
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