Latest news with #spam
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
AI Is Behind 50% Of Spam — And Now It's Hacking Your Accounts
AI is taking over the spam and phishing sectors. getty Artificial Intelligence is, I admit with a certain amount of begrudging respect, impressive to put it mildly. At least when it is used to help make work more efficient and leisure more, erm, leisurely. However, when AI is misused or employed for nefarious purposes, it becomes a concern for all of us. We've already seen this when the first big story broke as an AI attack on Gmail users went viral in 2024. Things have changed since then, and not for the better, as the latest research reveals. Now, half of your spam is generated by AI, and cyberattacks are increasingly using AI-powered methods. Here's what you need to know. It's official: more than half of the spam that you receive has been created using AI tools. That's the finding of newly published research, a collaboration between Barracuda and researchers from Columbia University and the University of Chicago, which found that, in April 2025, the actual number was 51%. This isn't altogether surprising. After all, AI does a better job, for the most part, in producing less spelling and grammatical errors, ensuring that linguistically the messages are understandable across geographies, and can be tweaked to have just the right tone to convince the reader to respond. And that, dear reader, is concerning. Not from the perspective of spamming in the broader sense, but rather when it comes to cybersecurity implications, as such techniques are applied to phishing attacks. The same report found that, already, 14% of the business email compromise attacks analyzed were AI-generated. Extrapolate that across all phishing attack scenarios, and I'm sorry to say, the situation will soon become untenable. Wei Hao, a PhD student at Columbia University, and one of the researchers behind the report, said that 'spam showed the most frequent use of AI-generated content in attacks, outpacing use in other attack types significantly over the past year.' What the research also found was that AI-generated emails didn't differ significantly from human-generated attack emails, at least not in terms of engendering a sense of urgency. It appears that AI, like human attackers, recognises the effectiveness of this method in persuading a recipient to act and become a victim. 'Urgency is a deliberate tactic commonly used to exert pressure and elicit an unthinking response from the recipient,' Hao said, which suggested 'attackers are primarily using AI to refine their emails and possibly their English rather than to change the tactics of their attacks.'
Phone Arena
a day ago
- General
- Phone Arena
Discussions and registrations are up and running again!
Well, good news! With some tighter restrictions, our system has now been fortified and we're confident that it's going to be smooth sailing from here on out. The registration block has been lifted, so you can create new accounts, participate in the comment section and create new Well, good news! With some tighter restrictions, our system has now been fortified and we're confident that it's going to be smooth sailing from here on out. The registration block has been lifted, so you can create new accounts, participate in the comment section and create new discussions again! Additionally, you can now easily access the discussion board straight from the website's main navigation. Additionally, you can now easily access the discussion board straight from the website's main navigation. And just to give you a peace of mind, rest assured that the incident posed no threat to you as a reader or registered member. The attempted attack was only related to a large amount of spam user-generated content being posted on the website, so your personal information and accounts are and always have been perfectly safe! Unfortunately, some bad actors saw this as an opportunity to launch a cyberattack and try to damage the user experience for everyone. As a result, we were forced to temporarily pause new registrations and consequently the creation of discussions by new members while we patch things in.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Think again before clicking 'unsubscribe' on spammy emails. See safer options.
A word to the wise: That "click to unsubscribe" link at the bottom of those unwanted email newsletters and new product announcements may do the exact opposite of what you'd hoped. TK Keanini, CEO at cybersecurity software seller DNSFilter, recently told the Wall Street Journal that clicking the "unsubscribe" link in hopes of getting off annoying email lists could do more harm than good, if you happen upon the wrong one. Instead of adding users to a "do not send" register, the links could instead send them to a mock landing page or give scammers the exact confirmation they were looking for, allowing them to pick out better potential victims, according to Keanini and DNSFilter, per the outlet. Here's what to know about safely freeing yourself from a cluttered inbox full of spam. At least one in every 644 "click here to unsubscribe" links led to potentially malicious websites, DNSFilter found, per the WSJ. While some may be looking for people to input personal information, such as an email address or other account details under the guise of "unsubscribing," others are simply testing to see if you are paying attention. Like with spam callers who repeatedly call but leave no message or follow-up, some of these links serve the purpose of simply telling the person on the other end that you have received, looked at and clicked on items within their messages. An individual's initial click may not lead to imminent doom, but it can identify them as a potential future email service providers and platforms have a built-in unsubscribe feature that does not require interacting with any shady links. The easiest and most common are the 'list-unsubscribe headers," the banner with a hyperlink from your mail provider that is usually positioned in or right above or below an email's header. Clicking through this should allow you to unsubscribe from repeat emails without going to an external website. On the other hand, if the email or sender is one you never want to see again, you can simply mark either as spam, delete the unwanted message and block the sender's email address. You can even block a sender's IP address in case they send those annoying blasts from several different accounts. You can also set up manual filters for emails that will automatically divert them to your spam box, or if you want to keep things even more contained, set up a separate email address to use when interacting with potentially spammy sources. Some services even have a built-in email hiding option, like Apple's 'Hide My Email." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Want to get off email lists? Do this, don't click 'unsubscribe'
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Phone Arena
Google Messages users in US should brace themselves for something unpleasant
Those who are still using a version older than 20250518.01 will continue to have the Unsubscribe option at inside the chat. Receive the latest Android news By subscribing you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy For users in Spain, the Unsubscribe option has been removed from the menu as well. You will likely still be able to stop spam messages from some businesses by replying "STOP," but considering not everyone is aware of this option, Google Messages users in the US and Spain should brace themselves for an untidy inbox. The fact that the feature was only pulled in two countries suggests businesses may have forced Google withdraw it. There's also a slim possibility that users complained about tapping on the button unintentionally and missing out on important updates from the business. For users in Spain, the Unsubscribe option has been removed from the menu as will likely still be able to stop spam messages from some businesses by replying "STOP," but considering not everyone is aware of this option, Google Messages users in the US and Spain should brace themselves for an untidy inbox. The fact that the feature was only pulled in two countries suggests businesses may have forced Google withdraw also a slim possibility that users complained about tapping on the button unintentionally and missing out on important updates from the business. Google has only said that it has removed the feature to optimize the user experience, but that doesn't entirely make sense, considering it hasn't been disabled for all users. Thus it's like that Google has caved to businesses and opened the floodgates for spam messages once again. For US users, the Unsubscribe option is no longer shown at the bottom of the chat, though it can still be accessed in the menu. The change affects conversations with businesses using RCS as well as SMS/MMS chats with businesses using shortcodes.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Tab fined $4m for sending thousands of text messages
Australia's largest gambling company Tabcorp has been slapped with a $4,003,270 fine after sending its VIP customers thousands of messages over text and WhatsApp without giving people a way to unsubscribe. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found the waging company sent 2598 SMS and WhatsApp messages to its VIP customers in the three months between February 1 and May 1, 2024. ACMA also found that 3148 SMS and WhatsApp messages did not contain adequate sender information across the same period, and 11 SMS messages were sent without consent between February 15 and April 29, 2024. While these messages were sent to VIP customers, ACMA said there was a difference between them and traditional 'high rollers'. ACMA said customers receiving these messages may not have the same means to deal with significant losses. ACMA authority member Samantha Yorke said the breaches were deeply concerning as they involved noncompliance by a large and established gambling provider that targeted VIP program customers. 'This is the first time the ACMA has investigated and found spam breaches in a gambling VIP program,' she said. 'These programs often involve personalised messages offering incentives such as bonus bets, deposit matching, rebates and offers of tickets to sporting and other events. 'The gambling industry needs to understand that spam laws apply to all direct marketing — whether it's generic campaigns or personalised messages.' The spamming occurred before chief executive Gill McLachlan joined the business. In a statement to NewsWire, Tabcorp acknowledged the ACMA's findings. 'Tabcorp is remediating and significantly improving our processes, systems and overall compliance pursuant to an enforceable undertaking, a TAB spokesperson said. 'Tabcorp assisted the ACMA throughout the investigation and will continue to work closely with the regulator to ensure ongoing improved compliance.' Under the Spam Act 2003, businesses must have consent before sending marketing messages. But customers who are sent messages with consent must have a way of unsubscribing should they no longer want to receive the communications. 'When people make choices to unsubscribe from a service they must be able to do so easily and their decisions must be respected by companies,' Ms Yorke said. TAB has also entered into a three-year court-enforceable undertaking, which includes an independent review of its direct marketing systems, quarterly audits of its VIP direct marketing, staff training, and regular reporting to the ACMA.
