Increase in computer spam

NBC Nightly News

January 22, 2007

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
Now to a problem a lot of Americans may have noticed lately in their computer inboxes. Suddenly spam, those unwanted, dreaded, maddening e-mails, the ones promising instant riches, the ones promising cut-rate Viagra, the very ones that seemed to be disappearing for a while are now back, and they're worse than ever. NBC News correspondent Rehema Ellis has the story.

REHEMA ELLIS reporting:
At the CyberCafe the cappuccinos are steaming, and so are lots of customers, whose computers are clogged with spam, junk e-mail. Unidentified Woman:
I've noticed if I ever open them then I end up getting five times as many. Unidentified Man:
If you miss it for five days, that's 25 minutes, you know, going through your spam.

ELLIS:
And it's getting worse. After some success with software filters that blocked unwanted e-mails, spam seems to be coming back. According to one study, last year the amount of spam soared from about 30 billion messages sent a day to 60 billion.

Mr. SCOTT WEISS (Ironport Systems CEO):
I would say when you put the marks up as to who's winning the war on spam, we have good months and bad months.

ELLIS:
What happened? Experts say spammers went back to the drawing board and figured out that using pictures instead of words would get around all the sophisticated technology that was designed to keep your computer safe.

BOB SULLIVAN reporting:
Right now most software programs that filter spam can't tell the difference between a picture of your grandkid and a picture of a stock tip, so the pictures are getting through where text wouldn't.

ELLIS:
Spammers are also evading filters by using quotes from best sellers like the "Harry Potter" series, or using headlines from actual news stories cut and pasted together.

TEXT:
"and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boys pocket."
"extremely guiltyIdol beings this week! Train car derail, catch fire in KentuckyMassive fireNigeria clashes."

ELLIS:
But there is some progress being made for consumers, last year the FTC sued nearly 90 spammers and won.

Ms. LOIS GREISMAN (Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC):
We've obtained more than $10 million in redress and we've also obtained civil penalties in excess of several million dollars.

ELLIS:
What can consumers do on their own? Experts say update your anti-spam filter software regularly, be skeptical and delete the spam without ever opening it to avoid wasting time on e-mail you never wanted. Rehema Ellis, NBC News, New York.