Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, has reported
a rise in the levels of "Mother's Day" spam in the run-up to
festivities in North America this weekend, and has urged consumers
to boycott companies who try and sell them goods via unwanted
email.
Spams have been seen trying to sell flowers, chocolates, and
even baskets of fruit to consumers who may have not yet purchased a
present for their mother.
Spams are being sent promoting goods in the
run-up to Mother's Day.
"The United States is celebrating Mother's Day on Sunday, and
spammers have ramped up their operations to try and sell last
minute goods to forgetful sons and daughters. Mothers may
appreciate their children being reminded by a spam to do something
special, but buying goods advertised in this way only encourages
the spammers to send more junk email," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "If no-one purchased the products
sold via spam then the spammers would disappear. It's time to
boycott the companies who use spam to sell their goods. If you
receive an unsolicited commercial email don't try, don't buy, don't
reply."
Sophos experts note that there are at least 23 different dates
used in countries around the world to celebrate Mother's Day, but
spammers focus on the North American celebration because it
provides them with the largest possible audience.
"If you live in the UK then you celebrated Mothering Sunday in
March, and if you're in Russia then you have to wait until
December! But you might still be bombarded with Mother's Day spam
because of the celebrations being held in the United States and
other countries this weekend," continued Cluley. "Spam is truly a
global problem, and everybody has a part to play in helping reduce
its impact on society. Next time spammers offer you 'something for
the weekend', ask yourself whether your mom would approve."
Earlier this year, a Sophos survey
revealed that five percent of computer users admit to having
purchased goods sold via spam.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses
from the threats of spam, spyware, hackers and viruses.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.