Spam Links Blog

The sound of spam: GFI heralds new mp3 stock scam

Spam now has a sound. This isn't the latest headline in a science magazine - no one has been hitting tinned meat with a spoon and recording the results (as far as we're aware).

Instead, the sound of spam is the latest in a series of types of file that pump-and-dump stock spammers are using to evade spam filters and make their email more attractive.

First they used text, then they mangled that with @ signs and strange layouts. Once the spam filters caught up they switched to GIF images, tried various files attached to spam, like PDF documents, and have just caught on to sound files.

One sample identified this morning by GFI, was a heavily distorted 30-second MP3 file. A synthetic female voice was used to promote a particular stock. This voice is distorted to avoid filtering approaches based on the file signature.

Once again, spammers are taking advantage of the fact that the MP3 format is one of the most common in use today, another attempt at social engineering.

GFI Software have uploaded a sample on their website, if you want to listen to it. For further details read GFI's mp3 spam roundup.