Spammers Use Translation To Hit Europe

Countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands are being targeted by spammers using translation software to send out unsolicited mail in multiple non-English languages.

Released this week, the MessageLabs Intelligence Report, said that some countries are experiencing levels of spam higher than the global average thanks to increasing use of translation software.

“Once again the spammers turn to their online toolbox, the Internet, for their latest tactics. Translation services and templates enable the spammers to push out multiple-language spam attacks and some dubious translations through the use of poor online services highlight the use of these antics,” said Paul Wood, MessageLabs Intelligence senior analyst, Symantec. “Non-English spam now accounts for one in every 20 spam messages, a figure we’ll be closely monitoring to see if spammers continue with their global expansion.”

According to the report, global spam levels stayed at a level of around 90 percent, but some countries experiencied levels in excess of 95 percent, such as Germany, France and The Netherlands. Germany overtook France as the most spammed country with levels rising to 97.5 percent.

The report also stated that in the in the UK spam levels increased to 93.6 percent and the Netherlands saw a rise to 95.7 percent.

Earlier this month, Symantec said there has been a significant increase in the amount of spam using links concealed with URL shortening services. During the past three days, the amount of spam containing short URLs has gone up from virtually nothing to 2.23 percent of all spam, the company said.