The Spam Omelette #50 – Knock-Off Swiss Watches for Christmas

Week in Review: November 4 - 11

1. E-mail marketing SOFTWARE - shortly put, spam.

The word SOFTWARE has been detected in two spam waves advertising distinct software products. According to BitDefender's spam researchers, the former spam wave is advertising counterfeit popular applications such as Microsoft Windows and Adobe Photoshop, while the latter is focused on selling services for "e-mail marketing software" (simply put, spam tools), such as grey-area SMTP servers able to send thousands of messages per minute.

2. Popular ADOBE software Torrent Edition

The extremely popular software house ADOBE is also present on this week's spam map. The spam wave advertising these products is unusually large and promises OEM software at bargain prices. As explained in the previous issues of the Spam Omelette, the alleged OEM software products are in fact pirated copies downloaded via peer-to-peer (BitTorrent) services.

3. The all-in-one drug SITE

Ranking third in this issue of the Spam Omelette, the word SITE has been detected in messages coming from world's top spammer, the Canadian Pharmacy online drug business. Camouflaged as a newsletter from the "Viagra Official Site", it contains a centered image with Viagra and Cialis knock-offs and this week's prices. Please note that Viagra is a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc. and the Canadian Pharmacy products are abusively marketed as genuine.

4. SWISS watches on discount

The word SWISS has been detected especially in messages advertising replica watches - extremely expensive imitations of premium brands such as Rolex, Cartier or Porsche Design. The potential buyer is lured into purchasing an alleged replica for less than half the price of a genuine watch. However, many replicas are incredibly cheap and lack essential features, not to mention that they have an extremely limited lifespan.

5. The hangover PILLS

Ranking last in this week's issue of the Spam Omelette, the word PILLS has been identified in messages sent by Canadian Pharmacy. Advertised as "hangover pills", the products are in fact the same old Viagra and Cialis knockoffs sold through a wide range of e-stores in China.

The message's headers have been forged to hide the true identity of the sender. In order to trick Bayesian filters, spammers have also included an extra line of junk text taken from "Kate Greenaway's birthday book".