# Why the sudden influx of spam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338 "2011-11-18T13:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/1 "2011-11-18T13:27:34Z")
I’ve had a sudden increase in the amount of spam in my inbox. I’m on yahoo, and there is a lot of spam that winds up filtered by yahoo automatically, but today I’ve had 14 spam messages in my actual inbox. Is it a failure of yahoo to filter? has my email address been sold to a new cohort of spamsters? is it time to change my address? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/2 "2011-11-18T13:44:43Z")
I noticed the same thing, starting yesterday evening. I had a big influx of spam directly to my inbox. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/3 "2011-11-18T13:54:06Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I noticed the same thing, starting yesterday evening. I had a big influx of spam directly to my inbox. Just so we can begin looking for a pattern, I must ask: Are you on Yahoo, or a different mail provider? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/4 "2011-11-18T13:59:14Z")
I kinda thought that was happening to me just a few days ago, and I’m not on Yahoo. I suspect the spammers have found a new loophole. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/5 "2011-11-18T14:29:02Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Just so we can begin looking for a pattern, I must ask: Are you on Yahoo, or a different mail provider? I’m an old fart, that’s still on yahoo. My kids and friends in their 20’s, tell me that you need to be on gmail to have any cred. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/6 "2011-11-18T14:41:09Z")
A spammer probably got access to a very clean and trusted mail server. They will send billions of emails over a day or two before the IP address makes it on to spam blacklists, then they will stop using that one and go on to some other mail server. I am on my own mail server, with anti-spam service, and I’ve started getting a ton of spam that matches this pattern. The spam comes in large groups, all from the same IP block and is created in such a way that it doesn’t flip my anti-spam service’s triggers (well half of it does…there is so much). If you trace the IP and the server, it always comes back to some real company that just has fallen victim to the spammer. But by the time you report it to the company, the spammers have moved on. It’s awful and vicious but note this…companies spend tons of money and time and resources every year to fight spam. It’s like paying a Dutch boy $100k a year to stick his thumbs in your server’s dam. Spam is awful and a plague and for all the spam you do see, bazillions of spam emails are not making it to your inbox. So when you do see it, sigh and delete it - don’t consider it a failing on the sys admin’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/7 "2011-11-18T15:08:45Z")
We love our sys admins. ---
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/8 "2011-11-18T16:08:02Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > It’s awful and vicious but note this…companies spend tons of money and time and resources every year to fight spam. It’s like paying a Dutch boy $100k a year to stick his thumbs in your server’s dam. Spam is awful and a plague and for all the spam you do see, bazillions of spam emails are not making it to your inbox. So when you do see it, sigh and delete it - don’t consider it a failing on the sys admin’s part. And if the article I read in a reputable newspaper here (sorry, no cite) is to be trusted, there are only a couple of hundred people involved in sending out all this. By the way, neither my gmail nor hotmail account (the one I use for spam-sensitive purposes) have gotten any spam lately… sucks to be on yahoo, doesn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/9 "2011-11-18T16:18:35Z")
> [@yelimS](#): > > By the way, neither my gmail nor hotmail account (the one I use for spam-sensitive purposes) have gotten any spam lately… sucks to be on yahoo, doesn’t it? 🙂 I don’t even bother to check my gmail or ymail addresses, as I set them up to be “fake” anyway, but still I get lots of spam that gets by the MSN filters. So it isn’t just Yahoo. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/10 "2011-11-18T16:38:44Z")
> [@yelimS](#): > > And if the article I read in a reputable newspaper here (sorry, no cite) is to be trusted, there are only a couple of hundred people involved in sending out all this. > > By the way, neither my gmail nor hotmail account (the one I use for spam-sensitive purposes) have gotten any spam lately… sucks to be on yahoo, doesn’t it? 🙂 It’s not specific Yahoo, it’s specific to the OP’s email address. It sucks to be on a spammer’s list. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/11 "2011-11-18T16:46:08Z")
I use Yahoo!, and yes, I had the same thing happen to me yesterday afternoon/early evening – about a dozen obvious pieces of spam ended up in my inbox that normally would have been caught and put in my spam box. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/12 "2011-11-18T16:51:49Z")
It’s funny you should mention it, OP, because I too have had at least half a dozen, all noticed this morning just before coming here. What I really HATE is the ridiculous post-dating. One I saw marked for some time tonight (x P.M.) and the rest marked for later in the year. There ought to be a law! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/13 "2011-11-18T17:35:03Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I kinda thought that was happening to me just a few days ago, and I’m not on Yahoo. I suspect the spammers have found a new loophole. Yeah, I think it comes in waves. i always report spam to enable the good guys to get to work on their fix. They find one, and the spam drops off for a while. Maybe I shouldn’t mention, it but nothing in my Yahoo account recently. What I like are the ‘‘Paypal’’ notices when I use my Excite account for Paypal. I did hear from DR ELTON BARNABAS, an attorney in Ghana, on my ISP account. I never expected such a windfall. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/14 "2011-11-18T18:14:17Z")
It happened on my Yahoo account as well. One quick burst of spam, not repeated. Either there was a glitch in their spam filter software or a spammer got hold of a trusted system. It can (and does) happen with all major providers. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/15 "2011-11-18T22:03:19Z")
What I don’t understand is why I’ve suddenly over the past 72 hours gotten some spam mail in my inbox with the **exact same subject lines** as have gone to my spam folder earlier in the week. Why aren’t they all treated the same way if they all say “Hey Handsome” or “Buy Diplomas Online”? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/16 "2011-11-18T22:11:39Z")
I’ve noticed that in my Hotmail account, I’ve gotten a lot of spam, which Hotmail put in my "Junk"file. I also note that all of this spam has occurred since I opted in on Facebook. I think spammers just go through stuff like Facebook, Linkin, etc., and sent stuff to emails noted therein. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/17 "2011-11-18T22:22:40Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > What I don’t understand is why I’ve suddenly over the past 72 hours gotten some spam mail in my inbox with the **exact same subject lines** as have gone to my spam folder earlier in the week. Why aren’t they all treated the same way if they all say “Hey Handsome” or “Buy Diplomas Online”? That happens to me sometimes as well. In fact, just today I got the exact same mail in both my inbox and junk folder (when I told Hotmail it was junk, there were two copies in the junk folder, so I assume that it came twice). ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/18 "2011-11-18T22:32:15Z")
> [@yelimS](#): > > And if the article I read in a reputable newspaper here (sorry, no cite) is to be trusted, there are only a couple of hundred people involved in sending out all this. I don’t know that much about email spam specifically (I work in web anti-spam) but I’m skeptical of that claim. It might be true if you choose narrow definitions, but the spam industry as a whole is very large. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/19 "2011-11-18T23:39:36Z")
I have a Yahoo account, and it’s been fine. Spam in the spam folder like usual, and nothing weird in my regular inbox. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338/20 "2011-11-19T00:11:38Z")
More spam than usual in my Yahoo inbox the last couple of days too. No change in the amount coming to hotmail, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-influx-of-spam/603338.md?page=2)