Australia in global top 10 for spam generation

NeTT 15 September 2010Last Updated: 8 October 2021

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The Symantec September State of Spam & Phishing report has demonstrated that Australia was among the top ten countries of origin for spam, contributing 2% of spam generation globally.

The report also showed that the retail sector was the most common target for phishing scams, with 54% of all such scams using retail sites to glean sensitive information from customers.

Bizarrely, a phishing scam was also uncovered in August, that preyed on the trust associated with the TV film High School Musical. The site presented visitors with the promise of a social network based on the popular show, prompting them to sign in using their private email and password

August also saw an increase in .zip and .html attachment Trojan virus distribution. Emails with sensational subject lines relating to celebrities urged recipients to open the attached files, thereby unleashing the virus.