Social spam

Social spam is unwanted spam content appearing on social networking services and any website with user-generated content (comments, chat, etc.). It can be manifested in many ways, including bulk messages, profanity, insults, hate speech, malicious links, fraudulent reviews, fake friends, and personally identifiable information.

As email spam filters became more effective, catching over 95% of these messages, spammers have moved to a new target – the social web. Over 90% of social network users have experienced social spam in some form. Those doing the “spamming” can be automated spambots/social bots, fake accounts, or real people. Social spammers often capitalize on breaking news stories to plant malicious links or dominate the comment sections of websites with disruptive or offensive content.

Social spam is on the rise, with analysts reporting over a tripling of social spam activity in six months. It is estimated that up to 40% of all social user accounts are fake, depending on the site. In August, 2012, Facebook admitted through its updated regulatory filing that 8.7% of its 955 million active accounts were fake.

Commercial spam is a comment that has commercial content irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Many of the old email spam content resurfaced on social networks, from Viagra ads, to work-from-home scams, to counterfeit merchandise. Recent analysis showed social spammers content preferences changing slightly, with apparel and sports accounting for 36% of all posts. Others included: porn and pills (16%), SEO/web development (23%), and mortgage loans (12%).

Social networking spam is spam directed specifically at users of internet social networking services such as Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or MySpace. Experts estimate that as many as 40% of social network accounts are used for spam. These spammers can utilize the social network's search tools to target certain demographic segments, or use common fan pages or groups to send notes from fraudulent accounts. Such notes may include embedded links to pornographic or other product sites designed to sell something. In response to this, many social networks have included a "report spam/abuse" button or address to contact. Spammers, however, frequently change their address from one throw-away account to another, and are thus hard to track.

...
Wikipedia