News: IM: No longer a haven from spam
IM vulnerable
Spammers have long considered e-mail their preferred medium for a variety of reasons. It costs little or nothing to produce. Its processes are easily automated, and despite a growing array of defenses aimed at shutting it out, delivery is all but guaranteed.

Instant messenger may be just as susceptible to marketing come-ons, according to spam watchers. They say it offers sufficient convenience and vulnerability to raise the specter of a major new front in the spam war.

In addition, the popularity of instant chat has made IM services and their millions of users prime targets. According to research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, Yahoo Messenger had 17.8 million unique U.S. users in January 2002, up 57 percent from the previous year. Other services including MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger also have been growing. ICQ Messenger was the only major service to register a decrease in users, according to Jupiter, falling to 8.4 million users last January from 9 million users in January 2001.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-857658.html