Many types of spam are common, such as email, SMS, splog (blog spam), and snail mailer. Dave Cole discussed these in Spam: It's Not Just for Email. Today, I would like to talk about one that isn't discussed as much because it isn't as common yet: spam in multiplayer online games, or, as I like to call it, "smog".
In recent years many big titles in massive multiplayer online games have been released, and are played by millions of people all over the world. With big groups of players, there are always a few that will pay to get ahead, and spammers know that they can exploit them.
I asked several of my close friends who play online games if they've seen smog messages, and they've all experienced the same thing: offers of gold, items, and quick levels in exchange for payment. One such message offered approximately 10 gold pieces for one dollar, and free character advancement for approximately $10 per day (for a process that takes up to 20 days). Assuming the spammer has automated tools that perform "gold farming" and character advancement, and tools that can improve multiple characters in parallel, this could be a profitable activity.
I also asked about classic spam topics in online games, such as ads for cheap medication and fake watches, but nobody I talked to had seen those. I think it's likely that spammers are targeting a younger audience that's more interested in their 70th level characters than medications.
There is a major advantage for makers of online games over email, however: the game company owns the server, and the game company can stop or slow spam at the source. Email, being open to the world, doesn't have that advantage.
So what have game companies done to prevent spam? Many games have a "report spam" button that lets players report spammers for investigation. Some games disallow or restrict free trials, forcing spammers to pay for accounts that can be shut down. Companies may also make it difficult to automate smog messages. Blizzard, for example, has recently implemented a new, advanced login protocol, dubbed "lockdown," on their Battle.net game servers. Lockdown helps prevent automated programs from logging into the server, reducing the quantity of automated spam.
This problem is still, at best, minor. But as online games become increasingly popular, the battle between the spammers and the game companies may also increase. And for all you gamers out there: don't get lost in the smog.