Spammers appear to be switching from sales tactics to scare tactics, according to Clearswift’s Spam Index, an analysis of unsolicited e-mails. For the first time, e-mails promoting goods associated with personal or family safety have made a curious appearance in inboxes.

Spammers seem to be exploiting a variety of fears in order to persuade users to take up their spurious offers. For those afraid of the unknown, “stranger danger,” or what might happen to their possessions once they leave their homes, this new wave of e-mails now offer a range of security kits. Subject lines include, “Protect your child from sex offenders. Download now,” and “You can’t see it, but it can see you.” Gullible PC users can even download e-guides full of advice claiming to protect their children from the world of drugs.

As identified in the last Spam Index, porn continues to take a back seat (3.6 percent of all e-mails), while financial spam and suspect health care offers are still at the top of the spam charts — making up 36 percent and 40 percent of all unsolicited e-mails respectively. E-mails purporting to be from PayPal are becoming more popular, making up a sizable proportion of scams. Software spam is also on the rise (at 31 percent of all product spam), which is unsurprising following news that Microsoft software packages have been rated amongst the world’s most counterfeited products.