Spam Masks Itself as News To Evade Filters

"Cheap Viagra online"? That's got to be spam. "Your account is about to expire"? That might make some pause for a moment, but nowadays most people know it's spam.

But an e-mail titled "Oil drops to $100 per barrel"? That'll get people clicking.

Spam e-mails continue to evolve as filters get better and people get more savvy with technology. The latest pitch for clicks is to disguise the subject line as news, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies said in a recent report.

Gavin Manes, the founder of Digital Forensics Professionals Inc., said that although the subject line may be different, the e-mails themselves are the same old spam that have hassled people for years.

"They're playing on the need and the want for news, but the delivery method is identical," he said.

The e-mails can carry a wide variety of headlines, usually something sensationalistic. Examples include "Negotiations between USA and Iran end in war," "Dog digs grave for owner" and "Will Smith found dead in bathtub."

But the contents are either an advertisement, a link to pornography, or a link trying to trick people into downloading spyware or a malicious computer worm, Manes said.

"The e-mail asks you to download a viewer to see the news," he said.

Robert Ashworth, a senior solutions architect with Peak UpTime, said the new spams likely aren't having a major impact on larger businesses because of security measures most of them have.

"More and more companies are instituting firewalls and spam-blocking software, so often these mails are blocked before people can even see them," he said.