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Spam can be defined as irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet. These are usually sent to a large number of users for a variety of use cases such as advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc [https://www.ultimojackets.com/HomeComing-Sleeveless-Spiderman-Hoodie Superhero Hoodie]. |
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{{short description|Spam on social networking services}} |
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'''Social spam''' is unwanted [[spam (electronic)|spam]] content appearing on [[social networking service]]s, [[social bookmarking]] sites,<ref>{{cite conference|chapter=Social spam detection |conference=5th International Workshop on Adversarial Information Retrieval on the Web (AIRWeb '09)|author1=Benjamin Markines|author2=Ciro Cattuto|author3=Filippo Menczer|title=Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Adversarial Information Retrieval on the Web - AIRWeb '09 |year=2009|pages=41–48|doi=10.1145/1531914.1531924|isbn=9781605584386 }}</ref> and any website with [[user-generated content]] (comments, chat, etc.). It can be manifested in many ways, including bulk messages,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rao|first1=Sanjeev|last2=Verma|first2=Anil Kumar|last3=Bhatia|first3=Tarunpreet|date=2021-12-30|title=A review on social spam detection: Challenges, open issues, and future directions|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0957417421011209|journal= [[Expert Systems with Applications]] |language=en|volume=186|pages=115742|doi=10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115742}}</ref> [[profanity]], [[insult]]s, [[hate speech]], malicious links, fraudulent reviews, fake friends, and [[personally identifiable information]]. |
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==History== |
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In the past, spam used to favor email as it was the primary communication tool. Email addresses were relatively easy to harvest via chat rooms, websites, customer lists and that impact a user’s address book. Eventually, email filters became more sophisticated, and more effectively decreased spam from clogging the inbox [https://www.ultimojackets.com/dawn-of-justice-knightmare-batman-bruce-wayne-trench-leather-coat justice jackets]. |
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As [[email spam]] filters became more effective, catching over 95% of these messages, spammers have moved to a new target – the [[social web]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Tynan |first=Dan |url=http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/264648/social-spam-taking-over-internet |title=Social spam is taking over the Internet |website=ITworld |date=2012-04-03 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> Over 90% of social network users have experienced social spam in some form.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.barracudalabs.com/SNS/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=5 November 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015164357/http://www.barracudalabs.com/SNS/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Those doing the “spamming” can be automated [[spambots]]/[[social bot]]s, fake accounts, or real people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/social-spam-infographic/ |title=What is Social Spam? (And How to Avoid Creating It) |website=Constant Contact |date=2012-03-20 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> Social spammers often capitalize on breaking news stories to plant malicious links or dominate the comment sections of websites with disruptive or offensive content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.impermium.com/blog/2011/08/31/debut-impermium-index-reveals-surprising-trends-in-social-web-spam-attacks/|title=Impermium – Google Impermium|access-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015023418/http://www.impermium.com/blog/2011/08/31/debut-impermium-index-reveals-surprising-trends-in-social-web-spam-attacks/|archive-date=15 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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Social spam is on the rise, with analysts reporting over a tripling of social spam activity in six months.<ref>{{cite web|last=Franceschi-Bicchierai |first=Lorenzo |url=http://mashable.com/2013/09/30/social-media-spam-study/ |title=Social Media Spam Increased 355% in First Half of 2013 |website=Mashable |date=2013-10-01 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> It is estimated that up to 40% of all social user accounts are fake, depending on the site.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|author=Olga Kharif |url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-24/likejacking-spammers-hit-social-media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525203801/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-24/likejacking-spammers-hit-social-media |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 25, 2012 |title='Likejacking': Spammers Hit Social Media |website=Businessweek |date=2012-05-25 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> In August, 2012, [[Facebook]] admitted through its updated regulatory filing<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000119312512325997/d371464d10q.htm#tx371464_14 |title=Form 10-Q |publisher=Sec.gov |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> that 8.7% of its 955 million active accounts were fake.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kelly |first=Heather |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/tech/social-media/facebook-fake-accounts/index.html |title=83 million Facebook accounts are fakes and dupes |work=CNN |date=2012-08-03 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> |
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Since then, spammers have moved onto a new target: social applications [https://www.ultimojackets.com/beverly-hill-cop-detroit-lions-axel-foley-bomber-jacket beverly hills cop detroit lions jacket]. |
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==Types== |
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Fake accounts are key to social spamming: To gain credibility, these fake accounts will try to become ‘friends’ or follow verified accounts, e.g., celebrities and public figures with the hope that these accounts befriend or follow them back. When genuine accounts befriend or follow back fake accounts, it legitimizes the account and enables it to carry out spam activities. |
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===Spam=== |
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Another way for spammers to attack is to hack into and take over a user’s account, spreading fake messages to the user’s authentic followers. |
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Commercial [[Electronic spam|spam]] is a comment that has commercial content irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Many of the old [[email spam]] content resurfaced on social networks, from Viagra ads, to [[Work-at-home scheme|work-from-home scams]], to [[counterfeit merchandise]]. Recent analysis showed social spammers content preferences changing slightly, with apparel and sports accounting for 36% of all posts. Others included: porn and pills (16%), SEO/web development (23%), and mortgage loans (12%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.impermium.com/blog/2011/10/31/halloween-edition-of-impermium-index-reveals-social-web-spam-goblins-galore/|title=Impermium – Google Impermium|access-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915020255/http://www.impermium.com/blog/2011/10/31/halloween-edition-of-impermium-index-reveals-social-web-spam-goblins-galore/|archive-date=15 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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===Social networking spam=== |
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Social networking spam is spam directed specifically at users of internet [[social networking service]]s such as [[Google+]], [[Facebook]], [[Pinterest]], [[LinkedIn]], or [[MySpace]]. Experts estimate that as many as 40% of [[social network]] accounts are used for spam.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> These spammers can utilize the social network's search tools to target certain [[demographic]] segments, or use common fan pages or groups to send notes from fraudulent accounts. Such notes may include embedded links to pornographic or other product sites designed to sell something. In response to this, many social networks have included a "report spam/abuse" button or address to contact.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/help/205730929485170/ |title=How do I report spam on Facebook? | Facebook Help Center |publisher=Facebook |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> Spammers, however, frequently change their address from one [[throw-away account]] to another, and are thus hard to track.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spam-reader.com/articles/why-difficult-catch-spammer.shtml |title=Why is it so difficult to catch a spammer? |website=Spam Reader |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> |
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Facebook pages with pictures and text asking readers to e.g. "show your support" or "vote" are used to gather likes, comments and shares which improve the pages' ranking. The page is then slightly changed and sold for profit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/facebook-spam-scam-secret-revealed.html |title=Yahoo News: ''Why 'Liking' Facebook virals makes scammers rich'' |website=Yahoo |date=2012-10-24 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Coles |first=Sarah |url=http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/10/25/liking-a-page-on-facebook-makes-cash-for-spammers/ |title=How 'Liking' a page on Facebook makes cash for spammers |website=AOL |date=2016-07-15 |access-date=2016-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529005520/http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/10/25/liking-a-page-on-facebook-makes-cash-for-spammers/ |archive-date=2016-05-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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instagram spam |
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Armed with fake accounts on social networks or applications, spammers can then carry out the following activities: |
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Bulk |
===Bulk=== |
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Bulk submissions are a set of comments repeated multiple times with the same or very similar text. These messages, also called as spam-bombs,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|author=Martin Bryant |url=https://thenextweb.com/2009/09/01/twitter-spambomb-offers-job-google/ |title=New Twitter spam-bomb offers A Job With Google |publisher=The Next Web |date=2009-09-01 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> can come in the form of one spammer sending out duplicate messages to a group of people in a short period of time, or many active spam accounts simultaneously posting duplicate messages. Bulk messages can cause certain topics or [[hashtag]]s to trend highly. For example, in 2009, a large number of spam accounts began simultaneously posting links to a website, causing ‘ajobwithgoogle’ to trend.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> |
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Messages with the same or similar text can be sent out to a group of people in a short period of time. Several spam accounts can also simultaneously post duplicate messages. |
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===Profanity=== |
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Use of bulk messaging can artificially cause a certain topic to trend if enough people visit them. In 2009, a spam website offering a job with Google tricked users to believe the site was genuine. |
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User-submitted comments that contain swear words or slurs are classified as profanity. Common techniques to circumvent censorship include “cloaking”, which works by using symbols and numbers in place of letters or inserting punctuation inside the word (for example, "w.o.r.d.s" instead of "words"). The words are still recognizable by the human eye, though are often missed by website monitors due to the misspelling. |
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===Insults=== |
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Similarly, bulk messaging can be used for spreading malware or advertising to direct users to a site. |
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User-submitted insults are comments that contain mildly or strongly insulting language against a specific person or persons. These comments range from mild name-calling to severe [[cyberbullying|bullying]]. Online bullies often use insults in their interactions, referred to as [[cyberbullying]]. Hiding behind a screen name allows users to say mean, insulting comments with anonymity; these bullies rarely have to take responsibility for their comments and actions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/complaint-box-online-insults/|title=Complaint Box - Online Insults|first=Alison|last=Hendrie|date=5 February 2010|access-date=1 October 2016}}</ref> |
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===Threats=== |
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Spreading malicious links |
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User-submitted threats of violence are comments that contain mild or strong threats of physical violence against a person or group. In September 2012, Eric Yee was arrested for making threats in an [[ESPN]] comment section.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kelly Dwyer |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/espn-aides-authorities-arresting-man-accused-making-threats-152742600--nba.html |title=ESPN aids authorities in arresting a man accused of making threats against children in a post about LeBron James | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo Sports |publisher=Sports.yahoo.com |date=2012-09-19 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> He started out discussing the high price of [[LeBron James]] shoes, but quickly turned into a stream of racist and insulting comments, and threats against children.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson |first=Simone |url=http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/09/valencia_man_threatened_to_shoot_schoolkids_aurora_espn_chat_room.php |title=Eric Yee, Yale Dropout, Allegedly Threatened to Shoot Valencia Schoolkids, Aurora Style, in ESPN Chatroom |publisher=Blogs.laweekly.com |date=2012-09-18 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> This is a more serious example of social spam. |
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Malicious links are links created with the intent to harm, mislead or damage a user or their device. When the link is clicked, activities triggered can range from downloading malware to stealing personal information. |
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===Hate speech=== |
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These links can easily be spread through user-submitted comments and posts, e.g., YouTube videos. With a fake account on social media, links can also be spread via posts or messages from the account. |
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User-submitted [[hate speech]] is a comment that contains strongly offensive content directed against people of a specific race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. According to a Council of Europe survey,<ref>[http://act4hre.coe.int/eng/Studies-and-Research/Survey kernel (1) / Error - Young People against hate speech online<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328110912/http://act4hre.coe.int/eng/Studies-and-Research/Survey |date=March 28, 2013 }}</ref> across the European Union, 78% of respondents had encountered hate speech online; 40% felt personally attacked or threatened; and 1 in 20 have posted hate speech themselves. |
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===Malicious links=== |
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User-submitted comments can include malicious links that will inappropriately harm, mislead, or otherwise damage a user or computer. These links are most commonly found on video entertainment sites, such as [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kaspersky.com/about/news/virus/2012/Video_sites_pose_highest_risk_of_malicious_links_in_2011 |title=Video sites pose highest risk of malicious links in 2011 |publisher=Kaspersky |date=2012-03-01 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> When a user clicks on a malicious link, the result can include downloading [[malware]] to the user's device, directing the user to sites designed to steal personal information, drawing unaware users into participating in concealed advertising campaigns, and other harmful consequences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bullguard.com/bullguard-security-center/internet-security/social-media-dangers/malware-on-facebook-and-twitter.aspx |title=Socializing with malware on Facebook and Twitter... |website=BullGuard |date=2015-08-27 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> Malware can be very dangerous to the user, and can manifest in several forms: viruses, worms, [[spyware]], [[Trojan horse (computing)|Trojan horse]]s, or [[adware]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/online-safety/malware/ |title=Malware – Good to Know – Google |website=www.google.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019154620/http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/online-safety/malware/ |archive-date=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
twitter spam |
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Fraudulent reviews are reviews of a product or service from users that never actually used it, and therefore insincere or misleading. These are often solicited by the proprietor of the product or service, who contracts positive reviews, known as “reviews-for-hire”.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hsu |first=Tiffany |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-yelp-fake-review-alert-20121018,0,1119940.story |title=Yelp's new weapon against fake reviews: User alerts |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2012-10-18 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> Some companies are attempting to tackle this problem by warning users that not all reviews are genuine.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fiegerman |first=Seth |url=http://mashable.com/2012/10/18/yelp-fake-reviews/ |title=Yelp Cracks Down on Fake Reviews With New Consumer Alerts |website=Mashable |date=2012-10-18 |access-date=2016-08-05}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
Fake reviews are reviews from users that never actually used the product. Various products or services usually pay several users for positive reviews to boost their product or service offering. |
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===Fake friends=== |
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With fake accounts, reviews can easily be posted from a fake persona, and these can be done in bulk. |
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Fake friends occurs when several fake accounts connect or become “friends”. These users or [[spambots]] often try to gain credibility by following verified accounts, such as those for popular celebrities and public figures. If that account owner follows the spammer back, it legitimizes the spam account, enabling it to do more damage.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=Saptarshi |last2=Viswanath |first2=Bimal |last3=Kooti |first3=Farshad |last4=Sharma |first4=Naveen Kumar |last5=Korlam |first5=Gautam |last6=Benevenuto |first6=Fabricio |last7=Ganguly |first7=Niloy |last8=Gummadi |first8=Krishna Phani |chapter=Understanding and combating link farming in the twitter social network |date=2012-04-16 |title=Proceedings of the 21st international conference on World Wide Web |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1145/2187836.2187846 |series=WWW '12 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=61–70 |doi=10.1145/2187836.2187846 |isbn=978-1-4503-1229-5}}</ref> |
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===Personally identifiable information=== |
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Sharing undesired or excessive content |
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User-submitted comments that inappropriately display full names, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or credit card numbers are considered leaks of [[personally identifiable information]] (PII).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cashmakingaffiliatesites.com/2022/11/10/get-a-job-in-social-media/ | title=Get a high paying social media job today | date=10 November 2022 }}</ref> |
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Fake accounts can also contact and share unwarranted content such as insults, threats and unwanted advertising to genuine users. Bots can be set up to automatically follow new users or automatically message users who post content. |
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==See also== |
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Clickbaiting and likejacking |
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* {{annotated link|Forum spam}} |
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Clickbaiting is the act of posting sensationalist headlines to encourage the user to click through to the content with the aim of generating online advertising revenue. When the user clicks through to the page, the content usually doesn’t exist or is radically different from what the headline made it out to be. |
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* {{annotated link|Messaging spam}} |
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* {{annotated link|Spam in blogs}} |
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* {{annotated link|Television advertisement}} |
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* {{annotated link|Wiki spam}} |
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==References== |
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Likejacking is the act of tricking users to post a Facebook status update for a certain site without the user’s prior knowledge or intent. The user may be thinking that they are just visiting a page but the click can trigger a script in the background to share the link on Facebook. |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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==External links== |
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This will then create a vicious cycle as other friends of the genuine user will click on the link and share it to more people on their network. |
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{{Spamming}} |
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[[Category:Spamming]] |
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facebook sunglasses spam |
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[[Category:Internet manipulation and propaganda]] |
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These activities negatively impact the user experience as they can either waste the user’s time and attention as well as potentially compromise the user’s security or steal their data. The presence of fake accounts and spam are therefore a problem for social networks, over-the-top (OTT) messaging and other mobile or gaming applications because a negative user experience can lead to user attrition, impact monetization potential and valuation of the service. |
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[[Category:Social influence]] |
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Although social networks are starting to clamp down on fake accounts and spam, spammers can easily create new fake accounts to continue their activities. |
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Fixing social media’s spam problems |
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The root of the problem is that creating a fake account in the social application is incredibly easy as the identity verification process is easy to bypass. Common methods of identity verification include using email verification-only, and using password-only. |
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Email verification-only is problematic because a single user can create many email accounts in a short time, which can then be used to create fake accounts in the social application. |
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Password-only is also problematic because spammers may use an automated tool called “account checker” to test different username and password combinations on the social application in the hope that a few may work to gain them access to these accounts. Captchas are supposed to deter the automated creation of accounts, but they can be quickly outsourced for people to solve inexpensively. |
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recaptcha |
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The use of phone verification upon creation of accounts can prevent spammers from creating fake accounts. This involves sending a one-time password (OTP) to a user over a separate communication channel (SMS or voice) than the IP channel (internet) used by the social application. |
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If an account can only be created after the user has correctly entered the OTP in the social application, this will make creation of fake accounts a more tedious process. |
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Furthermore, virtual and ported numbers can be sniffed out using certain APIs like Nexmo’s Number Insight. As a result, this makes it prohibitively expensive for the spammer to create fake accounts to use for spamming purposes as they either have to invest in a highly sophistical solution, or undergo the manual process of obtaining a phone number to bypass phone verification. |
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Phone verification is ideal to implement because phone numbers are globally available, and the process is inexpensive to implement. There is no additional hardware required since most people have a basic phone and SIM card, and the cost of sending/receiving messages are low. |
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teen texting smartphone |
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New users can even be onboarded seamlessly, without the need to enter a code, by checking their phone number type using a service like Nexmo’s Number Insight. This can also enable the discovery of accounts attempting to input virtual numbers, which the social application can opt to block. |
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Once the user performs an action within the social application, e.g., upgrade service, make first post, etc., the OTP password can then be sent to their mobile, performing a hard verify. |
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To prevent account takeovers, phone verification can also implemented to authenticate login from a new device, location or IP address. |
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Spam on social applications can be truly disruptive to the user experience, so implementing phone verification can be an effective way of blocking it. |
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Latest revision as of 10:04, 12 August 2024
Social spam is unwanted spam content appearing on social networking services, social bookmarking sites,[1] and any website with user-generated content (comments, chat, etc.). It can be manifested in many ways, including bulk messages,[2] profanity, insults, hate speech, malicious links, fraudulent reviews, fake friends, and personally identifiable information.
History
[edit]As email spam filters became more effective, catching over 95% of these messages, spammers have moved to a new target – the social web.[3] Over 90% of social network users have experienced social spam in some form.[4] Those doing the “spamming” can be automated spambots/social bots, fake accounts, or real people.[5] Social spammers often capitalize on breaking news stories to plant malicious links or dominate the comment sections of websites with disruptive or offensive content.[6]
Social spam is on the rise, with analysts reporting over a tripling of social spam activity in six months.[7] It is estimated that up to 40% of all social user accounts are fake, depending on the site.[8] In August, 2012, Facebook admitted through its updated regulatory filing[9] that 8.7% of its 955 million active accounts were fake.[10]
Types
[edit]Spam
[edit]Commercial spam is a comment that has commercial content irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Many of the old email spam content resurfaced on social networks, from Viagra ads, to work-from-home scams, to counterfeit merchandise. Recent analysis showed social spammers content preferences changing slightly, with apparel and sports accounting for 36% of all posts. Others included: porn and pills (16%), SEO/web development (23%), and mortgage loans (12%).[11]
Social networking spam
[edit]Social networking spam is spam directed specifically at users of internet social networking services such as Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or MySpace. Experts estimate that as many as 40% of social network accounts are used for spam.[8] These spammers can utilize the social network's search tools to target certain demographic segments, or use common fan pages or groups to send notes from fraudulent accounts. Such notes may include embedded links to pornographic or other product sites designed to sell something. In response to this, many social networks have included a "report spam/abuse" button or address to contact.[12] Spammers, however, frequently change their address from one throw-away account to another, and are thus hard to track.[13]
Facebook pages with pictures and text asking readers to e.g. "show your support" or "vote" are used to gather likes, comments and shares which improve the pages' ranking. The page is then slightly changed and sold for profit.[14][15]
Bulk
[edit]Bulk submissions are a set of comments repeated multiple times with the same or very similar text. These messages, also called as spam-bombs,[16] can come in the form of one spammer sending out duplicate messages to a group of people in a short period of time, or many active spam accounts simultaneously posting duplicate messages. Bulk messages can cause certain topics or hashtags to trend highly. For example, in 2009, a large number of spam accounts began simultaneously posting links to a website, causing ‘ajobwithgoogle’ to trend.[16]
Profanity
[edit]User-submitted comments that contain swear words or slurs are classified as profanity. Common techniques to circumvent censorship include “cloaking”, which works by using symbols and numbers in place of letters or inserting punctuation inside the word (for example, "w.o.r.d.s" instead of "words"). The words are still recognizable by the human eye, though are often missed by website monitors due to the misspelling.
Insults
[edit]User-submitted insults are comments that contain mildly or strongly insulting language against a specific person or persons. These comments range from mild name-calling to severe bullying. Online bullies often use insults in their interactions, referred to as cyberbullying. Hiding behind a screen name allows users to say mean, insulting comments with anonymity; these bullies rarely have to take responsibility for their comments and actions.[17]
Threats
[edit]User-submitted threats of violence are comments that contain mild or strong threats of physical violence against a person or group. In September 2012, Eric Yee was arrested for making threats in an ESPN comment section.[18] He started out discussing the high price of LeBron James shoes, but quickly turned into a stream of racist and insulting comments, and threats against children.[19] This is a more serious example of social spam.
Hate speech
[edit]User-submitted hate speech is a comment that contains strongly offensive content directed against people of a specific race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. According to a Council of Europe survey,[20] across the European Union, 78% of respondents had encountered hate speech online; 40% felt personally attacked or threatened; and 1 in 20 have posted hate speech themselves.
Malicious links
[edit]User-submitted comments can include malicious links that will inappropriately harm, mislead, or otherwise damage a user or computer. These links are most commonly found on video entertainment sites, such as YouTube.[21] When a user clicks on a malicious link, the result can include downloading malware to the user's device, directing the user to sites designed to steal personal information, drawing unaware users into participating in concealed advertising campaigns, and other harmful consequences.[22] Malware can be very dangerous to the user, and can manifest in several forms: viruses, worms, spyware, Trojan horses, or adware.[23]
Fraudulent reviews
[edit]Fraudulent reviews are reviews of a product or service from users that never actually used it, and therefore insincere or misleading. These are often solicited by the proprietor of the product or service, who contracts positive reviews, known as “reviews-for-hire”.[24] Some companies are attempting to tackle this problem by warning users that not all reviews are genuine.[25]
Fake friends
[edit]Fake friends occurs when several fake accounts connect or become “friends”. These users or spambots often try to gain credibility by following verified accounts, such as those for popular celebrities and public figures. If that account owner follows the spammer back, it legitimizes the spam account, enabling it to do more damage.[26]
Personally identifiable information
[edit]User-submitted comments that inappropriately display full names, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or credit card numbers are considered leaks of personally identifiable information (PII).[27]
See also
[edit]- Forum spam – Advertisements on Internet forums
- Messaging spam – spam targeting users of instant messaging (IM) services, sms or private messages within websites
- Spam in blogs – Form of spamdexing
- Television advertisement – Paid commercial segment on television
- Wiki spam – Deliberate manipulation of search engine indexes
References
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