Google: Spammers Throwing in Virtual Towel

Emailers have been hitting the “Delete” button for years, but spammers may be just now taking the hint, Google says. The tech giant isn’t releasing specifics, but it insists that the number of junk emails sent out has leveled off and could even be dropping for the first time in years, an encouraging sign that spammers may be giving up.

Not everyone is convinced, Wired reports. Yahoo says the amount of junk messages filling up email inboxes is declining thanks to spam-blocking software, but the overall amount of spam sent out is increasing. One researcher predicts spam messages each of us gets will rise from 4,351 this year to 4,403 in 2010, noting that consumers will be targeted with spam from marketers they’ve approved. (More spam stories.)