Did you check your spam folder lately? It\u2019s like walking into a giant shopping mall where everyone wants you to buy products, hire services, or marry a Nigerian prince. Thousands upon thousands of emails. Spam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ve compiled 20 spam statistics to show just how big this phenomenon has become over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are hundreds of unwanted messages in our email folders advertising one thing or the other and taking up much-needed space, 90% of which are malicious and can cause harm if opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These spam statistics will expose you to the damages they can cause to individuals and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Oberlo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spam messages are clogging the internet<\/a>; that much is sure. For a sense of scale, let\u2019s pause to appreciate the number of legitimate emails that reach their daily destinations. While this figure varies from day to day and month to month, global email traffic remains one of the busiest communication channels in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to email statistics, 347.3 billion legitimate emails are sent and received daily. This is a 4.3% increase from 2021, when the number of emails sent and received daily was 333.3 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (The Small Business Blog)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That translates into an average daily volume of 122.33 billion messages globally. Daily spam messages oscillate regularly, and the latest traffic statistics show it\u2019s declining. The total spam volume worldwide was highest in July 2021, when 283 billion out of 336 billion emails were spam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research shows that about 56.5% of all emails are spam, ranging from useless advertisements and scams to adult content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Mailmodo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common spam emails are advertising messages. Want to buy new clothes? How about some aftershave? Sometimes, these commercials have a purpose, and many get to your inbox with or without spam testing. Sometimes their presence can be interpreted as disrespectful and annoying. However, people generally don\u2019t like to see their email databases swarmed by hundreds of email messages advertising elixirs of youth and restaurant chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Mailmodo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The internet is swarming with adult content, and all phishing stats agree that is where most of its malware lurks<\/a>. This is dangerous spam in its purest form. According to statistics, dating site spam is relentless and profitable for spammers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Mailmodo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Financial news, software commercials, and services take third place among the top spammers in the world. The category comprises over a quarter of all spam, so look for bogus financial messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Techradar)<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s one too many. The logic behind every email spammer\u2019s operation is to flood the web with countless emails. Why not? The cost of spam is zero. One response makes the whole campaign worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Mailmodo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most spam traffic isn\u2019t a fraud. It\u2019s primarily ads and promotions for stuff you once looked up when you were bored or clicked on accidentally while shopping for something<\/a> else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Identity theft<\/a> is the most common trick in the book and a costly one. Learn to distinguish between a benign commercial and bait to lure you into a trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Mailmodo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bulk-mailing spam is a job for specialists – third-party companies that send emails on behalf of the product or service that is being advertised. The sender gets paid simply for sending messages, regardless of whether recipients buy advertised products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although spam email spenders only get one response, they earn over $7,000 daily for every 12,500,000 emails sent, making it a lucrative venture which will be around for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Radicati Group, Zippia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This eye-catching figure includes decreased productivity and the technical expenses companies incur from spam. According to Nucleus Research, the average loss per employee was about $1,934 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spam statistics like this one show how vast the global spam operation is. If it continues to grow at this rate, estimates suggest that damage might rise to a staggering $257 billion within a few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Talos Intelligence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talos Intelligence maintains a list of originating URLs and internet addresses that belong to scammers. The list helps internet service providers block spam before it gets to users. American spammers generate 8.6 billion messages monthly, while Chinese spammers send out 8.2 billion spam emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the worst spam sites emanate from China, where hackers cracked some of the most prolific spambots<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Spamhaus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is a list of the most persistent spam companies in the world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are all based in the United States and are responsible for distributing tens of millions of spam emails daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Spamhaus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fake company called Canadian Pharmacy is probably the largest spam mail operation in the world – and one of the longest-running as well. Established around 2009, the company uses botnet techniques to spam the world, sending millions of ads for counterfeit pharmaceuticals daily. Although the headquarters remains a mystery, it is most likely in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Spamhaus)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The spam industry is essentially unregulated. As Marx could have predicted, power is concentrated in relatively few hands as the market marches toward monopoly. According to internet spam statistics, there are approximately 100 gangs that run the business in Europe and North America. These gangs employ 200 to 300 individuals, responsible for most of the world\u2019s spam email distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Proofpoint, Symantec, Kratikal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scams and fraud<\/a> make up only 2.5% of all spam emails. However, identity theft is the goal of 73% of those emails. And only 3% of those emails are reported to the management. One of the leading cybersecurity<\/a> companies in the world, Symantec, is warning that these rates are rising fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite growing awareness that spam is a serious and costly business issue, many companies report falling victim to recent phishing attacks<\/a>. Businesses must protect themselves against malware, spam, and known phishing lures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Tessian)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a lingering myth about hackers preferring to target the rich and famous, leaving the rest of us safe from harm. But the stats tell a different story. According to a recent Apple email phishing report, nearly half of all phishing scams are designed to target Microsoft Outlook passwords. Spam scams are also directed toward acquiring LinkedIn (6%) and Amazon credentials (5%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Comparitech)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spam trends reveal that spammers are interested in any password<\/a> they can access. With more people ordering goods online, spam emails are now impersonating shipping companies. Surprisingly, the number of PayPal phishing attempts<\/a> dropped significantly. Previously, every tenth spam message involved this payment processor, and now only 2% of the spammers try to impersonate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortune 500 companies like Chase are also popular with scammers. The company\u2019s logo has been misused in many malware-laden and malicious spam emails<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Nearly 56.5% of all emails were spam in 2022.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Advertising makes up 36% of all world spam content.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Adult-related content is the second-biggest spam category, accounting for roughly 31.7% of all spam messages.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. 26.5% of all unwanted emails are related to financial matters, the third-biggest spam email category.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
6. For every 12,500,000 emails sent, spammers receive one reply.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
7. Scams and fraud account for about 2.5% of all spam emails. Phishing statistics indicate that identity theft is the goal of 73% of those.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
8. Spam email sites earn senders around $7,000 per day.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
9. Email spam costs businesses a whopping $20.5 billion every year.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
10. More spam emails originate from the United States than any other country.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
11. The United States is home to 7 of the world\u2019s top 10 spammers.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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12. The number one spam operation is based in Ukraine.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
13. The same 100 spam gangs send 80% of all spam in North America and Europe.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
14. As many as 85% of all organizations were targeted by phishing scams in 2021.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
15. Microsoft accounts are the most popular target of phishing emails, accounting for 43% of all phishing attempts.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
16. Financial Institutions (23%), Saas\/Webmail (17%), and Social media (11%) ranked high on the list of popular email phishing targets in 2022.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n