Q1 Spam trends report: botnets continue sending massive amounts of spam

Commtouch just released its Spam Trends Report for the first quarter of 2007. Spam continues unabated, according to real-time analysis of billions of messages globally each week. Continuing trends include:

– 85-90% of all global email is spam
– Global spam rates temporarily dropped a few percentage points after the holiday season, then climbed back to 85-90% by the end of the quarter
– Zombies are detected in over 100 countries, having spread to almost every corner of the globe
– Top spam category: sexual enhancers; second place: stock pump-and-dump scams
– Latest spammer trick: Hijacked newsletter spam

More details, including samples of hijacked newsletter spam, are available in Commtouch’s Q1 2007 Spam Trends PDF report.