Spammers have just turned up their creative meters a notch. Just recently, they’ve resorted to using DOC and XLS attachments to spread stock spam samples, obviously not content with just using text and image spam anymore.

Now they’ve added the FDF format to their list of preferred attachments. See screenshots below:

FYI: FDF stands for “Forms Data Format” and is used for representing form data and annotations that are contained in a PDF form. The format was invented by Adobe Systems Incorporated, and it is based on the PDF format. The said format can be opened using Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader. Opening the attachment reveals the usual stock spam, as shown in the following images:

Using a previously unknown format such as FDF may be a spammer�s idea of getting around normal antispam filters, which have been obviously updated to block any spam hidden in text, images, DOC and XLS files. The variety of formats used to spread spam are now growing, which only brings one question to mind: what will these spammers think of next?