Almost 1 Out of Every 3 People Buy Stuff from Spam   - 2,033 Views, 3 Comments

Wonder who on earth would ever actually buy stuff from spam?

Well, wonder no more. Because here’s the answer.

Right now, in 2008, nearly 30% of people who get spam actually buy something from it!

Twenty-nine percent of Internet users have purchased goods from spam emails, according to recent research by online security company Marshal.

“29 percent of internet users have purchased goods from spam emails,” says the report, adding that the most commonly purchased items “include sexual enhancement pills, software, adult material and luxury items such as watches, jewellery and clothing.”

Explained Marshal’s VP of products, Bradley Anstis, “The poll highlights an inconvenient truth. Many of us often question ourselves, why is there so much spam? The answer is, enough people are purchasing products from spam to make it a worthwhile and profitable endeavour for spammers.”

According to the report, a common misconception is that regular, everyday people don’t buy from spam.

“But,” says the report, “you have to consider the types of products people are buying. It’s pirated software, knock-off watches, counterfeit designer goods, cheap drugs and prescription medicines, pornography and other adult material. The Internet provides convenience and a degree of anonymity to people who want to buy illegal or restricted goods. It is a black market and spam has become a conventional means of advertising to a willing audience of millions of people who are purchasing from spam.”

Marshal’s poll also indicated that the number of respondents who admitted to making a purchase through spam have made multiple purchases; on average, more than two different types of purchase per person, supporting the conclusion that those who buy from spam make a habit of it, the company said.