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SURVEY FINDS SPAM NOW HITS YOUR WALLET
Nearly 10 percent of end-users surveyed have lost money to an email scam

SUNNYVALE, CA., July 12, 2005 — From a survey of nearly 800 end-users, Mirapoint, the secure messaging experts, and Radicati Group, a messaging-focused consulting and market research firm, produced a report focused on email security and usage to identify the existing trends allowing spammers to continue to mislead consumers. The survey found that 11 percent of users purchase products and services from spam emails and 9 percent of users have lost money due to an email scam.

“If the promotion in the spam sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said Marcel Nienhuis, market analyst at the Radicati Group.  “User education and implementation of smart practices when dealing with spam such as not opening unidentified messages will be crucial in discouraging spammers. If people stop buying products from spam, spam would probably go away.”

Even if they aren’t buying products, 39 percent of users admit to clicking on embedded links within spam (other than the unsubscribe link).  Furthermore, 57 percent of respondents that click on spam links say they receive more spam.  Clicking links within spam email not only alerts the spammer that the email address is active, it can direct users to web sites that then install viruses, spyware and other malicious code.  In a corporate environment, spam and security threats can also spread to other users in the organization, their partners and customers.

“More than half of email users do not understand the harmful effects of clicking on any links in spam email, even the ‘unsubscribe’ link often is a trap,” said Bethany Mayer, chief marketing officer at Mirapoint. “Only a combination of federal legislation, user education and effective technology will help us stamp out the problem of spam.”

About The Radicati Group
The Radicati Group, Inc. is a Consulting and Market Research Firm specializing in Messaging & Collaboration, Directory Services, Provisioning & Identity Management, Security, Unified Messaging & Communications, and Wireless Mobility. Founded in 1993, the company provides investors, corporate customers and suppliers with the market research information and consulting advice they need to make informed decisions and compete on a worldwide basis. The Radicati Group has offices in Palo Alto, California and London, UK. For more information on Radicati Group, visit its Web site at www.radicati.com.

2007 Mirapoint, Inc.  All rights reserved. All company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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