Posted by Virus Bulletin on Sep 6, 2006
Mail campaign aims to sneak into readers' subconscious minds.
A spam campaign is using the classic 'submliminal message' technique in an attempt to implant thoughts in the minds of those who view it. The campaign, pushing stocks, tries to persuade more people to invest in the advertised company by including an animated gif image file, which flashes the word 'buy' for tiny fractions of a second.
The idea is that the word is not noticed consciously, but slips into the subconscious mind if those who see it, creating a strong but inexplicable urge to comply. The technique has been around for over a century, and was the subject of widespread debate in the 1960s and 70s, but its effectiveness is not supported by any scientific evidence.
'Spammers are becoming ever more creative and devious in their attempts to suck people into their scams,' said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. 'Email users have to stay alert, and remember to take anything they read in an email from a stranger with a hefty pinch of salt - even if they don't notice having read it.'
More about the spam campaign is available from of Panda Software or Sophos.
This year's Virus Bulletin Conference (in Montréal, 11-13 October 2006) features a number of spam and anti-spam papers looking at the spam problem from both technical and corporate angles. For more details view the full conference progamme here or click here to register now.
Posted on 6 September 2006 by Virus Bulletin
