Spam can be described as messages sent over the Internet that are irrelevant or unsolicited. These are typically sent to a large number of users for a range of use cases, such as ads, phishing, malware delivery, etc.
In the past, when it was the key contact method, spam tended to favour email. Via chat rooms, blogs, customer lists and that impact a user's address book, email addresses were relatively easy to harvest. Eventually, email filters became more advanced and the clogging of the inbox eliminated spam more effectively.
Spammers have since moved on to a new goal: social applications.
Fake accounts are central to social spamming: These fake accounts will attempt to become 'friends' or follow verified accounts to gain popularity, e.g. celebrities and public figures, hoping that these accounts will be friends or follow them back. It legitimizes the account when legitimate accounts befriend or follow back fake accounts and allows it to execute spam operations.
Another way for spammers to attack is to hack into the account of a user and take over, distributing false messages to the real followers of the user.
Spammers, equipped with false accounts on social networks or apps, may then conduct the following activities:
Bulk messages
Messages of the same or identical text may be sent out within a short period of time to a number of people. Several spam accounts are also able to post identical messages simultaneously.
If enough individuals visit them, the use of bulk messaging will artificially cause a certain subject to trend. A spam website offering a position with Google in 2009 fooled users into thinking that the site was legitimate.
Similarly, to direct users to a site, bulk messaging may be used to distribute malware or ads.
Malicious Ties Spread
Malicious links are links generated in order to benefit a user or their computer, deceive or damage it. Activities activated can range from installing malware to stealing personal information when the connection is clicked.
Via user-submitted comments and updates, for example, YouTube videos, these links can easily be shared. With a fake social media account, links can also be spread from the account through posts or messages.
Fraudulent exams
Fake reviews are reviews by customers who have never actually used the item. To boost their product or service offering, different products or services typically pay many users for positive feedback.
With fake accounts, a fake individual can easily post reviews, and this can be done in bulk.
Sharing material that is unwanted or excessive
Fake accounts can also contact and exchange legitimate users with unjustified content such as insults, threats and inappropriate ads. Bots can be set up to follow new users automatically or to automatically send messages to users who post content.
Likejacking and clickbaiting
In order to generate online advertisement revenue, clickbaiting is the act of posting sensationalist headlines to allow the user to click through the content. The material typically doesn't exist or is completely different from what the headline made it out to be when the user clicks through to the page.
Likejacking is the act of tricking users without the prior knowledge or intent of the user to publish a Facebook status update for a certain location. The user can think that they are only visiting a website, but the click will cause a script to share the connection on Facebook in the background.
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