Spam is commonly defined as unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messaging (UCE / UBE).  This is most widely known for email, but first came to wide attention in a usenet context.  Spam has now diverged to cover new and emerging communication technologies, including IM and VOIP.   Spam was once “for a cause”, or unsolicited marketing messages.  Now, several scams that existed for years on post, fax and other communication mediums have moved online, and have begun to leverage the wide reach and cheap costs of spam.OECD taskforce report on spam – http://www.oecd-antispam.orgOECD background paper – Spam Problems in Developing Economies : This discusses spam issues in the context of developing economies, but the same issues are relevant around the world.  http://www.oecd .org/data oecd /5/47/34935342.pdf CAUCE (http://www.cauce.org) – The world’s largest volunteer antispam organizationCAUCE Asia Pacific – http://www.apcauce.org