According to PandaLabs, spam continues to make up 90-95 percent of allemail traffic, with spam related to the economy representing ten percent oftotal spam. Since the stock market began to take a steady decline inSeptember, Cloudmark reported that while overall spam has increased fivepercent, the new spam related to the economy and personal finances hasincreased by twice that amount, or 10 percent, during this period. Examplesinclude malware attacks targeting consumers with credit card debt, as well asphishing attacks targeting individuals undergoing property foreclosure. Byoffering consumers relief for their financial woes, these attacks dupe usersinto clicking on links included or embedded in the emails, an action thatautomatically downloads viruses or redirects them to phishing sites.

Socially engineered content from the most recent malicious spam includes: -- "What's Your Credit Score? Get it Now!": http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/3007727354/ -- "Premier Loan Provider.com: The Cash You need Now; Loans up to $1500": http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/3007697914/ -- "Payday Loan Finder": http://tinyurl.com/68dw26 -- "An Online Loan Gives You Money Now": http://tinyurl.com/59tjcp -- "A VA loan will give you a home" -- "Are you drowning in debt? Get the cash you need" -- "Credit In Crisis: Get Your Free Credit Report Today" -- "Don't let your lender foreclose" -- "Legally Erase Your Debt -- As seen on MSNBC" "One of our biggest concerns for 2008 was that cybercriminals wouldimprove their targeted spamming tactics to dupe consumers, and the content andvolume that we have seen during these tough economic times is proof thatunfortunately, our assumption was spot on," said Ryan Sherstobitoff, chiefcorporate evangelist, Panda Security. "With content this timely and thistargeted, there is no doubt that cybercriminals are upping the ante with theirtactics, and we are doing everything we can to stay ahead of them."

For more information about the latest spam and malware trends, go to thePandaLabs blog and subscribe to the RSS feed:http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/rss.aspx

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats asrapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabshas an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands ofnew samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). Thissystem is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security's new securitymodel which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 94% of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through thissystem of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work ofseveral teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms,Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), work 24/7 to provide global coverage.This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutionsfor clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog:http://www.pandalabs.com and the Panda Security website:http://www.pandasecurity.com/usa.

SOURCE Panda Security