The Chinese holiday's commercial component has attracted spammers

Jun 10, 2013 21:51 GMT  ·  By

The Dragon Boat Festival, or the Duanwu Festival, celebrated this year by the Chinese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies on June 12, has attracted the attention of spammers.

Symantec reports that it has blocked a large amount of spam emails associated with the festival.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, people take part in a series of symbolic activities in an effort to drive away evil spirits and epidemics.

However, as most other major holidays, the Dragon Boat Festival also has a commercial side to it. This commercial component is exploited by Chinese spammers to advertise all sorts of products and services, and even to lure users to malicious websites.

Users are advised not to open links or attachments from unsolicited emails. Also, purchasing products advertised via spam is risky because you might end up with a counterfeit or a low-quality product.