Trends in phishing and spam email slop

During late December 2025 and the opening days of January 2026 it seems like 1/3 or more of the dubious, probably illegal (fraudulent, con-artist, phishing) unwanted SPAM messages pretend or presumptively declare a payment declines; or sometimes, a payment has been made to your account; more rarely, claim your reward or gift.

This email inbox screenshot from January 8, 2026 is an example of a spate of similar pitches intended to alarm or provoke an automatic (defensive motion) reaction. Ideally, the person looking through mostly authentic inbox messages will stumble onto one of these - sort of like a buried landmine that explodes when activated - and anxiously search for a "contact us" or "help" button. Once they have demonstrated a living person is attached to the email account and can be lured into revealing name, address, and bank account, then the theft of identity and assets is practically complete.

Thanks to malevolent and perverted use of Artificial Intelligence to craft "truthy" websites, text messages, robocalls, and email messages, the difference between actual senders and bogus ones is sometimes hard to distinguish. It goes without saying that a generation ago - long before the current crop of A.I. and slop that it discharges in volume and in diverse versions - such things were beyond even science fiction. Merely to describe how the psychological games and triggers are engineered would exceed most people's imaginations around 1999. In 2026, though, expectations for decency, honesty, accountability, and outrages of excess and of neglect have shifted. Many people under the age of 60 have very low expectations. Their 'normal' includes abuse, fraud, and corruption at small and at large scale, perhaps in line with the daily lowering of the bar set by POTUS, #TrumpConvictedFelon. Where all these declines in social infrastructure, hollowing out of social capital (trustworthiness), and impoverished cultural capital, and agitation of emotional reserves will lead is an open question. But it does not leave a lot of room for common decency, common sense, common good, or hope.
 

email junk messages ('spam'), October 2018

In the run-up to USA mid-term elections for governors and other state officials, as well as the races for national legislators (senators and the representatives) false email to lure a person to respond has increased. This baited hook is called "phishing" (to distinguish the deadly catch from water-based 'fishing'). This screenshot gives one small sampling of the lures being used, concentrated on a couple of topics.

Set of phishing attacks with diverse subjects line to attract attention. Email software judged these as spam automatically.

The themes indicated by "sender" or by "subject line" include diet and weight loss offer, health insurance plans, marijuana medicinal derivative, time-share resort property troubles, retirement offers for investment, penis enlargement, and veterans' benefits assistance. In other words, the topics revolve around body improvement (weight loss, pain management, insurance, or sexual betterment) or property and entitlements (veterans' benefits, resort properties, retirement scheme).

Since online shopping data and other traces of a person's demographic and spending habits (locations, amounts, subject matter) are bought and sold, sometimes with accuracy and other times bogus in the types of products or services to pitch to the person, the above illustration does not reflect the full spectrum of bait used in phishing for all email users in the society. But still, it does give a sampling of the sorts of appeals made to one's person or one's (financial) prospects. Perhaps 10 or 100 years from now there will be other topics and methods of digitally deceiving people.