Research by Forrester, commissioned by the Business Software Alliance, shows an incredibly high number of Europeans that use spam to buy computer software, clothes/jewellery and travel/leisure products. In France, Germany and the UK, 1 in every 5 internet users said they had bought one of these things via spam. The poll was simultaneously conducted in Brazil, Canada and the US, under 1.000 online respondents per country. Brazil tops the chart of purchases in every category.

Usually, a maximum response rate of 1 in every 10.000 spam mails is assumed, but the Forrester poll indicates at least 20% of all the spam mails is actually read. The Business Software Alliance assumes most of the spamvertised software is illegal, and offers 10 tips for consumers to detect 'software spam scams', including the tip to report piracy to the BSA.

BSA: 1 in 5 British Consumers Buy Software from Spam (09.12.2004)
http://www.bsa.org/uk/press/newsreleases/online-shopping-tips.cfm