There is one thing that all of us can agree upon. Those who succumb to those spam advertisements and actually order a product contribute to the problem by keeping the spammers in business. So no matter what the percentage is of those who order the products, it places a burden on the remainder of us Internet users. But here is what I don’t understand. With millions of sites available to order the crap that the spammers sell, why do the ‘idiots’ among us have to order from a spammer?

Over the years we have heard all kinds of percentages used to pin point how many people order from spammers. These numbers go as low as 2% and as high as 20%. But a recent survey in the UK shows the number could be as high as 30%. Which if true, would answer the question why spammers make so much money.

According to the article:

About 30 per cent of internet users have bought goods advertised in spam emails, research from internet security vendor Marshal has found.

Marshal polled 622 internet users, of which 29.1 per cent admitted to having purchased items through links in spam emails. The most frequently ordered items were sexual enhancement pills, adult entertainment, software and luxury items including watches, jewellery and clothing.

A report from Forrester Research in 2004 demonstrated that one fifth of internet users had bought products through spam. Marshal’s vice president of products, Bradley Anstis, claimed that spam response rates were considerably higher than people realised.

So what do you think. Are we surrounded by people who do not realize that their actions affect all of us?

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