Spammers target IM accounts
Source: CNet News
Growing incidents of spam attacks on some instant messaging networks are raising vexing questions about the future of one of the fastest-growing applications on the Internet.
Unsolicited commercial appeals on instant messenger are still uncommon, but they are become prevalent enough that some IM fans worry their networks are vulnerable to the seemingly unstoppable marketing deluge that has long flooded e-mail in-boxes.
None of the major IM providers interviewed for this story would talk about their spam problems in detail. But consumers and spam experts said the phenomenon is growing, with no silver bullet in sight.
"The spam problem is horrible," said Donna Hartfiel, a three-year user of AOL Time Warner's ICQ instant messenger and a self-described homemaker and PC geek. She said numerous complaints and countermeasures have so far failed to damper the flow.
