India Tops as Spam Contributor

Ankit Fadia, a "legal hacker" who tests corporate and government networks for weaknesses on a contract basis, estimates that half of the India-generated spam is created in the country by willing spammers, with the rest originating elsewhere and routed through Indian bots. Tracking it back through a string of zombies in various nation is difficult.

Over time, spam is becoming more targeted, as are other forms of Internet marketing. And many have a cultural component, including solicitations in India tied to cricket matches, Bollywood stars, fake training institutes, matrimonial help and weight loss through ayurvedic techniques, Indian traditional medicine. They've also getting more professional, experts said, moving beyond the traditional typo-laden Nigerian scams of yore.

As spam and its spinoffs become increasingly lucrative, the business is being taken over by sophisticated foreign crime syndicates that add it to their portfolio of drugs, prostitution and loan sharking, said Ghosh, with technically ignorant mob bosses hiring the geeks required. Symantec estimates that the profits from online scams are equal to the global illegal drugs trade of two years ago and growing.