The Email Wars

From the NY Times:

Spammers Turn to MP3s to Deliver Pitches: Spam is now being served in audio form.

The latest in unwanted electronic communication is an MP3 file that began landing in inboxes around the world last week. It features a spooky, synthesized Darth-Vader-sounding female voice touting the stock of Exit Only Inc., traded on the lower-standard Pink Sheets.

”Hello, this is an investor alert!” the halting, at times unintelligible voice says. Her pitch invokes the growth prospects of Exit Only, a Web site operator that runs Text4Cars.com, which links auto buyers and sellers via text messages.

Computer security researchers say the audio blasts — MP3 files with misleading names attached to spam e-mails — reflect spammers’ need to slip their messages through increasingly sophisticated e-mail filters.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Spam-MP3s.html?_r=1&oref=slogin