E-mail security firm FrontBridge Technologies of Marina Del Rey, California, this week revealed the results of its Spam Analyzer product, which filters and analyses message characteristics for more than 1,200 enterprise e-mail domains.
From hundreds of millions of messages, FrontBridge concluded that the use of deceptive tactics has increased more than 50% in the first six months of this year.
Merely opening any such e-mail can, warns FrontBridge, create a Pandora's Box effect, inviting Trojan horses, viruses, browser launches and pop-up advertisements.
Spammers also use a deceptive tactic called "From Line Address Masking." Using this tactic, spammers substitute a common name, such as Jenny, Mary, or Bob, to replace the spammers' true e-mail address. Recipients are likely to know someone by a common first name, and thus can be enticed to open the message.
Spammers will also bundle common subject lines with "--------Original Message---------" body text to make the spam message appear as though it is a reply. This tactic fools even some of the industry's most capable spam filters.
"Spammers have gone well beyond the direct-sale 'Lose weight fast' subject line tactics," said Charles McColgan, CTO at FrontBridge Technologies.