Summary
Email scams persist due to a confluence of factors, including the minimal cost of sending mass emails, the exploitation of human psychology, and the continuous evolution of scam tactics. Scammers often target vulnerable individuals, sometimes using deliberately obvious scams to identify easier targets. They exploit emotions such as greed, fear, and urgency, and constantly adapt their approaches by using current events and refined techniques. The ease of spoofing email addresses and impersonating legitimate brands further contributes to their success. Ultimately, the human element is the weakest link, as it's often easier to trick individuals than to breach security systems. Even a tiny positive response rate can make scams highly lucrative, sustaining the economic incentive for scammers.
Key findings
- Low Cost, High Volume: The cost of sending millions of emails is negligible, requiring only a small fraction of recipients to respond positively for profitability.
- Psychological Manipulation: Scammers exploit human psychology by preying on emotions, using persuasive techniques, and creating a sense of urgency.
- Evolving Tactics: Scam tactics continuously evolve to target unsuspecting recipients, incorporating timely lures and adapting to current events.
- Human Vulnerability: Humans are the weakest link, as they are often easier to trick than it is to hack security systems.
- Email Spoofing & Impersonation: The ease of spoofing email addresses and impersonating trusted brands enhances the credibility of scams.
- Targeting Vulnerable Individuals: Scammers often target vulnerable individuals and may deliberately use obvious scams to filter for easier targets.
Key considerations
- Increased Education and Awareness: Continuous education about scam tactics and red flags is crucial for protecting the public.
- Critical Thinking: Encourage individuals to think critically and avoid impulsive actions when encountering suspicious emails.
- Advanced Security Measures: Develop and implement more robust security measures to detect and prevent phishing attacks and email spoofing.
- Email Authentication: Implement stricter email authentication protocols to combat email spoofing and brand impersonation.
- Protection of Vulnerable Groups: Targeted efforts are needed to protect and educate vulnerable individuals who are more likely to fall victim to scams.
- Adaptability & Vigilance: Ongoing vigilance and adaptability are necessary to counter the constantly evolving tactics of scammers.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Email scams persist due to a combination of factors: the low cost of sending mass emails, the exploitation of human psychology, and the continuous evolution of scam tactics. Scammers only need a tiny percentage of recipients to fall for their schemes to make a profit. They leverage techniques like urgency, fear, and impersonation, often targeting vulnerable individuals. Furthermore, many people lack awareness of scam red flags, and scammers adapt to what works, constantly refining their approaches. The fundamental issue is that humans are susceptible to manipulation.
Key opinions
- Low Cost, High Volume: Scams are cheap to send, requiring only a small percentage of recipients to respond positively for profitability.
- Psychological Exploitation: Scammers exploit human psychology, preying on greed, fear, and a desire for easy money. They also use persuasive techniques.
- Evolving Tactics: Scam tactics are constantly evolving to target unsuspecting recipients, often using timely lures and current events.
- Lack of Awareness: Many individuals are unaware of scam red flags and don't realize they've been scammed until their bank accounts are affected.
- Human Fallibility: Even cautious internet users can be tricked. The fundamental issue is that humans are fallible.
Key considerations
- Education is Key: Continued education and awareness campaigns are crucial to protect the public from evolving scam techniques.
- Critical Thinking: Individuals should be encouraged to think critically and avoid acting impulsively when faced with urgent or fear-inducing emails.
- Recognizing Red Flags: Learning to recognize the red flags of scams, such as unsolicited offers, requests for personal information, and suspicious links, is essential.
- Scammer Adaptability: Understanding that scammers are constantly adapting their tactics requires ongoing vigilance and a proactive approach to security.
- Vulnerability: Recognizing and protecting vulnerable individuals (elderly and others) who may be more susceptible to scams is important.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Comparitech explains that with enough time, effort, and ingenuity, cybercriminals can trick even the most cautious internet users. The problem comes down to the fact that humans are fallible.
8 Mar 2022 - Comparitech
Marketer view
Email marketer from Scamwatch explains that the psychology of persuasion is a key element for scammers. They try to trigger reactions using the following techniques: Authority, Liking, Scarcity, Social Proof, Reciprocity, and Commitment and Consistency.
19 Apr 2024 - Scamwatch
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Email scams remain profitable due to the low cost of sending a high volume of emails. Even a small response rate can yield significant returns for scammers. A key element involves exploiting vulnerable individuals, whose contact information is then sold to other scammers for more targeted scams. The underlying principle is a numbers game, where the minimal cost of sending millions of emails makes even low success rates worthwhile, as spammers consistently find ways to profit, sometimes even being victims themselves.
Key opinions
- Low Cost, High Volume: Sending millions of emails costs almost nothing, making even a tiny positive response profitable.
- Vulnerable Targets: Scammers target vulnerable individuals and sell their contact information for more targeted scams.
- Numbers Game: Success relies on sending a large quantity of messages, where a low response rate can still provide a high return on investment.
- Profit Motive: Spammers persist because they continually find ways to profit, with some potentially becoming victims of other scams.
Key considerations
- Targeting Vulnerability: Focus on protecting and educating vulnerable individuals who are more likely to fall victim to scams.
- Economics of Spam: Understand the economic incentives driving spam to develop more effective countermeasures.
- Scammer Networks: Investigate and disrupt the networks that sell and distribute contact information of vulnerable individuals.
- Evolving Tactics: Remain vigilant and adapt to the evolving tactics used by scammers to maintain effective defenses.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource, John Levine explains that spam is profitable because it costs almost nothing to send millions of emails. If even a tiny fraction of recipients respond positively, the scammer makes money. The economics of spam are such that even a low success rate can be highly lucrative.
15 Dec 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins responds that spam exists because it’s a numbers game. Sending tons of messages means that some people will reply, and some of those replies will be positive. The cost of sending is so low that even a very low positive reply rate makes it a good return on the investment.
20 May 2025 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Email scams persist due to the continuous evolution of phishing techniques, exploiting human vulnerabilities like trust, fear, and urgency. Scammers are adept at bypassing security measures, impersonating legitimate brands, and leveraging new technologies. A key factor is the ease with which email addresses can be spoofed, making it difficult to verify the sender's authenticity. Ultimately, the human factor remains the weakest link, as it's easier to trick a human than to hack a network.
Key findings
- Evolving Techniques: Phishing techniques continuously evolve, enabling scammers to bypass security measures.
- Human Vulnerability: Scams exploit human trust, fear, and urgency, causing victims to act without critical thought.
- Email Spoofing: Email addresses can be easily spoofed, making it difficult to verify the sender's authenticity.
- Brand Impersonation: Scammers impersonate well-known brands and organizations to gain trust and steal personal information.
- Human Factor: Humans are the weakest link, making it easier to trick a person than to hack a network.
Key considerations
- Enhanced Security Measures: Develop and implement stronger security measures to detect and prevent phishing attacks.
- User Education: Educate users about phishing techniques, red flags, and how to verify the authenticity of emails.
- Email Authentication: Promote and implement email authentication standards to combat email spoofing.
- Staying Updated: Keep abreast of the latest scam techniques and vulnerabilities to adapt security measures accordingly.
- Layered Security: Implement a layered security approach that combines technical controls with user awareness training.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains that scams are successful by appealing to human nature, such as trust, fear, or urgency, so that victims don't think carefully about the request before doing it. Phishing emails frequently use legitimate-looking logos, email addresses, and names to fool recipients into thinking the request is legitimate.
22 Apr 2024 - Microsoft Support
Technical article
Documentation from Proofpoint shares that the human factor is the biggest element to why email scams still work. Humans can easily be tricked and it's much easier to trick a human than to hack the network.
13 Jan 2025 - Proofpoint
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