Financial scam spam soars 700 percent
Spam which advertises share issues has rocketed by 700 per cent last month, according to security firm Clearswift.
The company explained that the share tips are part of so-called 'pump and dump' scams that were popular in the late 1990s during the internet boom, and have continued ever since.
'Pump and dump' involves boosting interest in the shares, causing the stock price to rise and allowing the spammer to make a profit.
"The spammers clearly enjoyed a certain degree of success with these scams and it seems they're coming back again for another pop," said Alyn Hockey, director of research at Clearswift.
