‘Desperate Housewives’ Trick Leads Spam Survey

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — There has been a recent sharp rise in spam claiming to offer the details of women looking for casual sex and much of it has been trickling in from online adult sites hosted in Russia and China, according to a content security firm.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Clearswift said the latest trick has led to a jump of 180 percent in sex-related spam over the course of the last month.

Most of the spam leads to sites appear to be dating forums for swingers, or available and lonely housewives, and Clearswift says that most include programs that can download spyware onto PCs.

According to Clearswift's latest spam index, 18.08 percent of all spam is sex-related, up from 10 percent in the previous month.

"Aside from the fact that these emails are bogus, clicking on any link within a spam mail can lead to a whole host of unwanted problems,” Clearswift spokeswoman Alyn Hockey said. "They frequently contain malicious programs including spyware or rogue Internet dialers, which can run up huge unexpected bills."

Hockey adds that, over the past 20 months, there has been a variety of spins on the sex spam theme in order to attract surfers to porn websites, ranging from offers of a well-paid career as a porn star, to actually setting up and running an online website.

Hockey also said that the array of bizarre products seen after Christmas — including a dog-translator and a device that turns a coffee table into a kennel — has completely dried up.

The percentage of spam in the "direct products" category remained steady over the past month, declining slightly from 17.85 percent to 14.47 percent.

But, interestingly, software now accounts for more than three-quarters of products offered and 12.03 percent of spam overall.

Also, Rolex watch offers have vanished. After spiking in October, they remained consistent in November, and have since slid into obscurity, Clearswift said. One new arrival, the company said, is phony Sony portable games giveaways.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More