SYMANTEC warns Spammer will cash in on economic crisis

As The Angry Manileno rants about karma and car accidents, I'm going to bark at another tree and take issue with spam.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer's Lawrence Casiraya reports that spam messages will be on the rise as opportunists and scam artists try to dupe people. Here's part of the report:

Spam levels will increase next year as perpetrators will try to take advantage of the global economic crisis and the popularity of social networking sites, Symantec said in a recent report.

Among its security trends to watch out for in 2009, Symantec noted the global economic crisis will be the basis of many new attacks.

This would include phishing attacks. Email messages whose premise would involve the closing of a given bank meant to spread false alarm are just a few examples, Symantec said.

Similarly, attacks would also exploit other types of fraudulent activities, such as e-mail messages promising easy mortgage or refinancing.

"Expect to see an increase in scams that prey on people who have had homes foreclosed, an increase in work from home scams targeting the unemployed, and an increase in spam that mimics job sites," Symantec said in its forecast.

Good advice from Symantec.

But lately, instead of receiving spam on various ways of preventing further shrinkage in the value of my stock holdings (I have none) or the money in my bank (which are in Philippine Pesos), I have been receiving more than the usual e-mails for male appendage enlargers and 'male performance' enhancers.

What the hell?!

In any case, I recently discovered that Loperamide Immodium has a more potent stiffening effect than Viagra and Cialis combined!

As for male organ enlargers, the cheapest and most effective device can be bought at National Bookstore -- a magnifying glass.