The study, based on a survey targeted at both consumer level and corporate computer users, found that many people click on embedded links in emails despite identifying the email as potential spam.
“If people stop buying products from spam, spam would probably go away,” said the Radicati Group’s Marcel Nienhuis, the report’s author. The study found that 11 percent of survey participants purchased products from spam emails and almost ten percent of those lost money doing so.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported that clicking on links in spam resulted in receiving more spam. Also, the report stated that people still believe that “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” options in spams are an effective means of keeping spammers at bay, when conventional Internet wisdom is that clicking an unsubscribe link simply alerts spammers to valid email addresses.
“Clicking links within spam email not only alerts the spammer that the email address is active, it can direct users to websites that then install viruses, spyware and other malicious code,” said Neinhuis.
The spam filtering firm MessageLabs confirmed that opt-out links may often contain back doors exploitable by spyware programs.
Until spam filters are perfected, the company says, the best way to deal with spam is to delete it.
Nienhuis added that a well-informed surfer is the strongest spam deterrent. "User education and implementation of smart practices when dealing with spam, such as not opening unidentified messages, will be crucial in discouraging spammers,” he said.
