News
39% of Spam Emails Offer Fake Medical Products
April 2020 by Atlas VPN
According to data gathered and analyzed by Atlas VPN, 39% of spam email messages sent in 2019 were selling phony medicine products. Comparing the percentage of suspicious health-related products promoted over email in 2018, the number increased by 77%.
The report shows that:
• Last year, 39% of spam emails were offering fake pharmaceuticals and health cures. In 2018, 22% of spam emails were promoting phony medical items, which represents a 77% growth last year.
• The number of health-related products offered in spam emails is expected to have skyrocketed by the end of 2020 due to the pandemic. Gmail blocks 100 million spam emails daily, 18 million of them being coronavirus-themed.
• In 2019, 10% of spam emails were extortion scams. Last week, the FBI just reported that reports of extortion over email have increased since people are using the internet more often than usual.
• Last year, over half of emailed malicious files were Microsoft Office Word .doc and .docx or Excel .xls and.xlxs files. Users giving access to third-party applications allow stealing more information, in comparison to them visiting a malicious website would.
