Spammers have taken a special interest in the US housing market, capitalizing on news about the US housing slump and the recent interest rate cut, as PDF, image and e-card spam fell in September, according to a new report by Symantec. According to Symantec’s monthly report, “The State of Spam in September,” spam levels continue to grow with overall levels at the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) layer in September increasing slightly to average 70 percent of total e-mail, compared with 69 percent in August.

In the report, Symantec observed a large volume of spam messages which are trying to tap into the housing market uncertainty. The spam messages range from refinancing deals to offers on houses to asking users if the “Equity” in their home is being used. Subject lines include: “Pay your house off in 5 to 7 years” and “Looking to sell your house fast?” Housing spam on the rise; image spam drops off: Symantec report

Technorati Tags: Housing spam, image spam