How bad is the spam problem?
In September 2003, spam accounted for 54% of all Internet email — up from 18% in April 2002 (source Brightmail Probe Network). The spam problem is bad — and rapidly getting worse — for a number of reasons. For example, in the U.S., the recently established National Do Not Call Registry has enabled people to add their telephone numbers to a list that telemarketers are not allowed to call. As a result, people and organizations that had relied on telemarketing campaigns have begun to look for other ways to get their messages out, and many have turned to the Internet as the least expensive means of doing so. The cost of using the postal system, and the further complication of the recent anthrax scare, has meant that a mail campaign is not a viable alternative to many who relied on telemarketing. As a result of these and other factors, the amount of spam clogging the Internet has expanded alarmingly. Some other spam statistics: • Spam will account for 60% of all Internet email by January
