Mail providers have registered a new record number of spam mails
The mail providers Web.de and GMX have registered a new record number of spam mails. The two companies announced on Thursday that around 1.65 billion such junk messages are currently being intercepted every week. The reason for this could be the upcoming Black Week. It entices many people with discounts, but also attracts cyber criminals.
According to GMX and Web.de, the previous peak value of spam emails was 1.5 billion messages per week. The current increase during Black Friday on November 24 is no coincidence. "During Black Week, everyone is on the hunt for the best price. It's highly emotional: everyone wants to be as quick as possible to get a bargain," said Arne Allisat from Web.de and GMX.
In the hectic rush, many users are careless and some click on links in suspicious emails to get the best prices. "And the spam and phishing senders exploit this unscrupulously," explained Allisat. Parcel service phishing is particularly popular with criminals during Black Week: the perpetrators send emails that look confusingly similar to those from real parcel services and request additional payment of customs duties or postage.
Anyone wishing to protect themselves should remain calm, no matter how tempting the offer, the mail providers advise: "No bargain is so good that you should risk your personal data for it". Mail addresses should be checked and links should not be clicked on. It is better to open the company website in a new browser window. If there is any suspicion of unauthorized access, users should change their passwords immediately.
Black Friday has its origins in the USA. It is the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers and online retailers advertise discounts to encourage consumers to buy products.
GMX and Web.de, two notable mail providers, have surpassed their previous record of 1.5 billion spam mails per week with a new high of 1.65 billion. Due to the surge during Black Week, which encourages shopping with discounts, spam mails have increased significantly.
Source: www.ntv.de
