70% of emails now spam

Junk mail now accounts for nearly 70% of emails worldwide, according to the latest figures from email filtering specialists MessageLabs.

And there could be worse to come: 83% of all email traffic in the US is spam and MessageLabs predicts the UK will see US style spam levels by the end of the year.

40% of spam is healthcare related (we’re sure you’ve noticed all those Viagra and wonder diet messages clogging your in-box). However porn spam seems to be on a downslide. Filtering company Clearswift produces a regular Spam Index and found that just 4.8% of spam is pornography related.

A spokesperson for the company reasoned: “It appears that adult products and services are not generating sufficient returns for spammers. Instead, they are switching to more profitable models using stock tips and consumer products as a hook.”

Those Clearswift results in full…
40% is healthcare related
37.8% is financial
12.8% is direct products
4.8% is pornography