“These are all fast-moving issues that Washington is attempting to solve,” Lazio continued. “There is little to no legislation from a cybersecurity or data privacy standpoint that allows law enforcement to go after the criminals who enacted the breach … or allow users to protect their data,” Lazio says. Spam and regulatory issuesĪnother reason we continue to receive spam calls and emails is that laws are slow to catch up with online crimes, and spammers use this to their advantage.
In regard to the dirty spam, bad actors are having success with these types of messages, and therefore, they are sending them out at a much higher rate than ever before.”Įven if someone replies with “stop sending this to me,” the spammer has then engaged the recipient, which provides them with a way in for further exploitation and data gathering. The purpose of sending spam and phishing messages is to ultimately get the receiver to open, click, or provide information. “While everyone gets spam, there has been an uptick in receiving “inappropriate” or “dirty” spam texts and emails,” says Rizwan Virani, CEO of Alliant Cybersecurity. If you’ve ever received an NSFW (not safe for work) spam message that contained completely inappropriate subject matter, you’re not alone.
Why you receive inappropriate spam messages It’s just the cost of modern living and convenience. Even if you practice good data security, there’s no way to avoid having your phone number and email floating around in the world. There is no way for a consumer to reclaim their info after a breach, and that is when it is leaked to robocalling services for big money,” Rick Lazio, former congressman and now senior vice president at cyber consultancy Alliant Cybersecurity, told Digital Trends. “Many of these service providers have been breached, and the consumers don’t even know it. Think about how often you provide your phone number or email address when checking out online, when registering for something, or when signing up for a rewards program in a store. You get spam messages because someone gets access to your email address or phone number. How are spammers getting my info? Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images In addition to it being annoying, we also have to remain vigilant to make sure our devices don’t become compromised, and our priceless data doesn’t get into the wrong hands.īut with so many technologies and algorithms available to block spam, why are we still getting these email and text messages in 2022? We asked industry professionals their thoughts on spam to find out. Truecaller, a well-known caller ID and spam-blocking app, also confirmed that there’s been an unprecedented increase in spam robocalls and text, with an estimated $29.8 billion lost to scam calls in 2021.Īnecdotally, we’ve certainly noticed an overall increase in spam, as well an increase in the amount of spam making it through the spam filters. The numbers for spam emails are even more staggering, with 122.3 billion sent every day though most get caught by spam filters.
How to tell if a text or email message is spam.Why you receive inappropriate spam messages.