IT security firm Sophos has noticed an alarming trend of spam emails that are romantic in nature and its more enticing that those Nigerian 419 scams.
Sophos warns that such emails can have a number of purposes, including confirming that an email address is active - and thus more attractive to spammers. More sinisterly it can lead to a confidence trick that sees the recipient build up a 'relationship' with their new electronic friend and ultimately hand over money or personal information or worst, losing a kidney to this syndicates. Sophos experts note that some of the email addresses in this romantic spam emails are the same as known spam sites selling pharmaceutical products to enlarge body parts.
An example of this Romantic spam emails which I get daily too:
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'Hello my dear friend
I was looking through the web few weeks ago and found your profile. Now I decided to email you to get to know you better. I am coming to your country in few weeks and thought may be we can meet each other. I am pretty looking girl. I am 25. Do not reply to this email address directly. Email me back at xxxxxxxxxxx'
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"Some people need a reality check and ask themselves whether it is really likely that an unknown young woman would see them on the web and be moved to make contact? And even they were, would this be the sane behaviour of anyone you would ever want to meet?" said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "If you do reply to a message like this, the danger is that you will not just be confirming your email address is 'live', but you could also be pulled into a circle of deception designed to separate you from the contents of your wallet."
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