Spammers Use Blank E-mail Technique to Evade Spam Filters

Researchers at online security company 'Symantec' have reported an unprecedented increase in spam for the last six weeks (May and first two weeks of June 2009). spammers have used a new technique called blank e-mails to reach their victims.

Symantec reveals that it discovered the new technique of targeting users in the very first week of May 2009. spammers were trying to escape from spam filters by inserting their messages in other parts of the e-mail.

The security firm has given a new name to these types of spam e-mail called 'glued-body' spam. Moreover, these e-mails have 'glued-body' spam attached in different parts of the message, like the header to display the advertisement correctly by the e-mail client.

Samir Patel, a security researcher at Symantec, has told that the samples blocked by his company came with blank message body and subject line. In fact, they didn't contain any URL or attachment, as reported by eWEEK SECURITY WATCH on June 16, 2009.

According to the security company, spammers are using this tactic with an intention that the e-mail sender will manage to show the information to the recipient.

However, Symantec has given a bad news to spammers that if their e-mails manage to bypass anti-spam filters, a large number of people can't see the text, which reduces the rate of clicking on malicious link and correspondingly the profit of spammers.

The security company also draws attention to a danger that if innocent users start opening blank e-mail, spammers will send the conventional spam e-mails to accounts from where reply came.

Apart from this dreadful approach, Symantec points to the emergence of traditional pharmaceutical-related spam e-mail in May 2009. These e-mails were predictably advertising erectile dysfunction (ED) pills but in reality, they contained malware buried under an image with themed messages.

A new wave of spam e-mails has been identified in which different subjects are used to install malware on the recipient's PC. For instance - fake e-mails from reputed money transfer and parcel service to inform the recipient about the delivery, and contain attachment of a copy of an invoice.

Hence, spammers are searching for new methods to evade spam-filters and make as many victims as possible.

Related article: Spammers Continue their Campaigns Successfully

» SPAMfighter News - 6/25/2009