Up until recently, spam emails were relatively easy to spot. With their pixelated images, endless spelling and grammar mistakes and unrecognisable email addresses, most people didn’t have too much trouble distinguishing between legitimate and fraudulent messages. In fact, many of them even had clues in their subject titles. Now, however, spammers are becoming much more intelligent. Here are some of the latest internet spam trends to keep an eye out for in 2017!
- Phishing emails
- Ransomware
- Calendar spam
- Fake news
2016 was a huge year for phishing scams, and they’re set to continue throughout 2017. Phishing emails are those which pretend to come from household name brands with a large amount of credibility, such as Amazon or Paypal. They work by posing as the company and asking the recipient to update/confirm their account information, including their personal bank details, or to visit a particular link. Worryingly, they have progressed to look – and seem – incredibly legitimate. They often mimic emails which people would expect or are at least likely to open. For instance, a recent widespread phishing scam imitating an Apple iTunes invoice played on the fact that people were likely to have received similar emails in the past.
The second half of 2016 saw a huge increase in ransomware attacks, so this is a trend which security systems are paying particular attention to in early 2017. Ransomware attacks work by blocking a user’s access to their own computer, usually until a sum has been paid or personal details have been shared. The malware is often shared through email spam or unsecure websites, and has developed significantly during the age of smartphones. Unlike computers, which can have their hard drives removed, smartphones are effectively useless once they are infected with ransomware.
Due to the rise of cloud computing, spammers now have another way to target their victims. Smartphone users who sync information across multiple devices are now at risk of having unwanted information implanted in their calendars. These calendar invitations, which are accepted automatically, are becoming a popular way for hackers to promote illegitimate companies such as fake clothing brands. This is particularly difficult for the servers, which include Apple Calendar, Microsoft Exchange and Google Calendar, to prevent, largely due to the fact that they cannot see the content of the invitations. They can however monitor the number of requests sent from the same IP address, which has potential applications for cracking down on the rise of calendar spamming.
Hitting the headlines recently has been the infamous fake news scandal plaguing social media sites such as Facebook. The over-sensationalised fake ‘news’ often mimic the format of credible news sources, even referencing other fake news articles. Although Facebook has since taken action to identify and take down fake news, it is incredibly difficult to distinguish between real and fake content on such a large basis. It is therefore likely that fake news articles will continue to circulate throughout 2017 until a more effective preventative measure can be found.