Unsolicited emails are starting to damage the reputation of legitimate industries, a software group claimed today.
Clearswift says customers are becoming confused over the origins of spam messages, while an increasing number believe the makers of the products on offer are the ones to blame.
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant which manufactures anti-impotence drug Viagra, has vowed to take legal action against the spammers after a recent poll found that 25% of male email users thought it was to blame for sending Viagra-related spam.
Clearswift's latest spam index revealed that healthcare spam now represents 57.6% of all unsolicited emails.
But the company believes scams related to other online retailers have also seen a dramatic increase. It claims that if the trend continues, it will threaten to damage trust in the UK's digital economy.
"Pfizer has set a precedent, but we are likely to see other companies declaring war on spammers for undermining their products," said Alyn Hockey, director of research at Clearswift.
"Suing such websites or seizing domain names may be harsh yet necessary where finding long term solutions are concerned - until then we have to rely on technology, taking a multi-layered approach to content security."
In Clearswift's virus index for last month, also published today, the numbers of Win32 malware viruses have seen significant growth, yet few managed to make a major impact.
Exceptions were variants of MyDoom, Bagle and Lovegate that reached "medium-rated levels of outbreak".
