The British Invasion - Different This Time Around
A British internet company is being used by one of the world’s most prolific spammers to produce billions of unwanted e-mails, The Times has learnt.
Unsolicited messages have increased by up to 300 per cent over the past four months as criminal gangs step up their attempts to contact computer users.
The gangs have secretly taken control of up to one in twelve computers in British homes. The machines are being used to send out thousands of e-mails every day promoting prescription drugs, cheap shares, money laundering schemes and even wives.
Experts estimate that spam now accounts for 90 per cent of the 50 billion e-mails sent each day. Although more than 95 per cent of the unsolicited messages are detected by anti-spam systems, there is still an enormous quantity reaching e-mail inboxes. To increase the chance of reaching computer users the spammers are adopting 'image' messages to avoid detection by anti-spam systems that check text. They have also developed the most aggressive virus yet seen to control computers without the owners’ knowledge.
Strange that once these spammers are identified some "concerned computer user" does not come forward on behalf of the rest of us and break a few legs and arms to slow these folks down. I know that all the folks I know who are computerized would be happy to help out.
