With the commercialization of the Internet and integration into everyday life, there’s been a rise in unsolicited information sent via email. This junk electronic mail, commonly referred to as spam, has been a persistent problem since the early days of the Internet and continues to be one of the most prevalent online threats.

Spam can be delivered by email scam history, social media platforms, text messages and even phone calls. Regardless of the medium, the end goal is to trick the recipient into divulging personal information or providing a platform to spread malware and phishing scams. In 2020 alone, phishing was responsible for 80% of all reported security incidents.

Scam emails have been a part of the Internet since its inception, and they continue to evolve as hackers and scammers try to outwit users with a range of tactics. A look at the history of email scams shows how these malicious emails have changed, but their basic goal remains the same: to trick you into ponying up sensitive information or falling victim to a malicious attack.

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Chain letters preying on adolescent love, school popularity or good fortune were an indelible part of the early Internet and have continued to be a significant driver of email scams. In May 2000, the ILOVEYOU computer worm spread through email attachments and was responsible for infecting tens of millions of Windows personal computers.

More recently, phishing has become increasingly sophisticated. Malicious macros, disguised as a work document or invoice, have become a common method of delivery for ransomware and have been able to slip past most antivirus solutions. Vishing, which targets business users’ familiarity with internal voicemail systems, has been another successful phishing technique. These emails are typically disguised as a message such as Voice:Message, PBX Message or voicemail delivery report.