Could PDF spam be on the way back?
Kelly Conley of Symantec Security Response blogged on Friday that her company has seen the percentage of PDF-attachment spam jump from zero percent at the beginning of October to two percent in the past week.
The small spike might be the result of one PDF pump-and-dump stock scam that sent out over 20,000 messages.
Here’s a breakdown of what Symantec has seen in relation to this trend, according to Conley:
“PDF spam was widely observed in June, reached a peak in early August and then began a decline through September where by the end it was barely a blip on the radar. Now in the earlier days of October, we are closely monitoring this small revival of PDF spam that is currently being observed.”
The way email attachments have been scalded as a communications form, you’d think this story would have a happy ending to it. It’s amazing how email spam scams continue to hang on–even in light of the fact that chat room, newsgroup, and bulletin boards are a proven, better way to make the “big score.”