That spammers target for your e-mail!

Most of the readers of this blog are well versed in the world of internet marketing. I figured that since the weekend is again upon us, I should share what I have seen as the top business e-mails you should be wary of when you log back in on Monday (or Sunday evening).

While these are quite obvious, and most are caught by spam filters, some may skirt by. A good rule of thumb to follow is when you are checking your inbox from the weekend or holiday, it’s probably a good idea to be extra vigilant on some of the top 5 innovative business targets of spammers.

1. Pharmaceutical or Drug Mail

Viagra is probably the number one mass marketed item out there. If not specifically Viagra, some type of male enhancement drug is pushed into your inbox. Some make it to your inbox, while most perish in the spam box you have set up. Lately male enhancement isn’t the only drug of choice that is pushed into your inbox. Cheap pain killers are another top choice to be pushed.

We have seen an uptick in other drugs that are not widely available without a prescription. That is the root cause of why this is a popular business to be in. Sites are turnkey to set up. Domains are cheaply bought and disposed of. Obtaining legal prescriptions means you have to have insurance to go to a real doctor.

In one of my spam warning posts, I outlined how the industry was now using the .ru or Russian domains. Plenty of those are available since most of the .com, .net, and .org top level domains probably have been taken. or already used and disposed of.

2. Diet or Weight Loss

While the diet and weight loss industry could be looped in with the pharma mass marketing business, it’s still it’s own profitable niche. With television shows like The Biggest Loser pushing weight loss and healthy living, it’s no surprise that this innovative business has taken off like gang busters.

Haven’t seen a lot of this yet, but with the gaming industry getting in on the act such as the exercise games you can find with the Nintendo systems of games like the DS and Wii, this innovative market will only continue to grow. My expert forecast is that while the pharma industry remains strong, the diet and weight loss industry will only continue to expand and grow once the marketers see that pharma isn’t the big pay day like it use to be.

3. Swiss Watch and Rolex Clones

The watch industry is quite the unknown commodity. Most people that I know fore-go wearing a watch these days. Maybe in the circles of the rich and famous, people still wear watches. Maybe if you are attending one of those high priced muckity muck functions, you wear a watch. It’s pretty safe to say that since most people carry a cell phone, most use it for their timepiece.

Why you would even consider buying a fake or knock off item to wear to an event where wearing a watch is the standard is beyond me. If you are going to wear a Rolex, you should probably buy it from a reputable jeweler. I mean would you go to an event and show off your fake Rolex to people?

Nevertheless, this has become quite the popular piece of marketing e-mail that you might see make it through your spam filters to your inbox. It’s not like watches raise a great deal of flags out there, but it should. I seriously doubt that many jewelers market in such a fashion such as mass marketed e-mails, but they might.

4. Insurance

This one can be quite dangerous. Maybe it should have topped the list at #1, but being that drug and pharma spam is the most common type of marketing you will see, I’m hoping you are still reading. These last two innovative businesses that are marketed fall more into the phishing and virus type of marketing. Quite dangerous and something you should really be careful of before mindlessly clicking that link.

Why is the insurance type of scam one of the two most dangerous?

Just this past week, I saw and let readers of this blog know, a phishing scam that involved USAA Insurance company. While insurance may not be where you keep your money, I’m sure you have possibly paid via credit card or check and used the online services that we all enjoy.

5. Banking and Brazil

While many of you probably are reading from the United States of America, there are other countries out there. One of them that has a big internet population and consequently feel they should be considered a major player online is the country of Brazil. With that of course comes all the entrepreneurs from that country that want to mass market and make their millions.

Why did I lump the two together? Because there has been a surge of fake bank phishing scams that originate from the country of Brazil. Most of them are easily identifiable as they have the .br domain tacked on at the end such as wellsfargo.com.br – so pay attention before haphazardly clicking that Wells Fargo link. Make sure it is what it appears to be.

Technically Speaking, most of the mass marketed spam and phishing can be avoided through a little education on the topic as well as knowledge on what might be just another piece of junk mail marketed to you only because they are a top 5 innovative business. Hopefully this post has provided a bit of background and insight on this thriving industry.

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