According to CipherTrust, who provides businesses with spam filters and runs the SpamArchive.org site, people still are clicking on spam. The New York Times reports their findings that spam promoting pornography is 280 times more effective in getting recipients to click on them as pharmacy spam - messages advertising drugs. Rolex watch spam comes in third.

“Successful spam is about impulse purchases,” said Francis deSouza, a vice president at Symantec, which makes antivirus software. “Things like home mortgages have a lower success rate than things you’d buy on impulse. Things like Viagra, porn.”

That’s interesting, because a quick look through my bulk mail folder on Yahoo finds that the vast majority of spam I’ve received today is about getting a mortgage or some other loan, getting rich quick, finding a mate, or earning a college degree. Perhaps Yahoo has found a way to crack down on porn spam?

How to Stop Porn Spam
For those of you still getting these annoying messages, here are a few things you can do:

1. Don’t Reply! Never reply to a spammer or try to follow any unsubscribe instructions. That just confirms your email as one that’s actively being checked and a good target for more spam.
2. Report It. The FTC has a site devoted to preventing and reporting spam. There are also a number of watchdog websites out there like Spamcop.net, and Abuse.net where you can report spam.
3. Complain to ISP. Most internet service providers (ISPs) don’t want spammers using their services, so there’s a good chance they’ll shut down the spammer once someone complains.

How to Report Spam
Most spammers, however, use bogus return addresses, so you’ll have to look at the email’s headers. You can find the full headers here:

• Yahoo - Yahoo has a “Full Headers” link at the bottom right of the email message.
• Gmail - In Gmail, click on “More options” at the top of the message and then “Show original”.
• Microsoft Outlook - In MS Outlook, open the message and click on “View” and then “Options”. The headers will appear in a text box labeled “Internet Headers” at the bottom of the pop up window.

Make sure you copy and paste all of the headers in your correspondence so that the FTC, Spam WatchDog Group, or ISP can track down where the message came from.