Spam recipients who are particularly keen to find holiday bargains are more vulnerable to spam messages promising big savings.

They're more likely to open messages that hint at being a potential holiday e-card. And spammers often send fake online order-confirmation messages that, in fact, contain spam or viruses.

Add to this the number of people who get computers as presents and not recognize the spam scourge. "Our kids have grown up with this so they already get it," Hughes said. "But our parents may not."

So it may be time for some public-service announcements. There are basic safety tips, like never open an attachment that you do not expect and never buy anything from someone who approaches you first through e-mail channels.

Notice that people or corporations you "know" aren't always safe. Spammers use names that may seem familiar, while "phishermen" imitate the Web site of a trusted company.

The rule here is also simple: If you open a message from, for example, Wells Fargo and you're asked for a Social Security or account number, you can bet it's not legitimate. A message that does not ask for such a number or seems to know it is most probably safe.

There are some new tricks since last Christmas. One is a stock-tip scam. Here, it comes from someone with a familiar or friendly first name and suggests that a certain stock is a sure thing.

Hughes said these people have invested in that same penny stock, and use the spam to generate interest. As victims buy the stock and inflate its value, the spammer sells out and can make a quick 5 or 6 percent profit. With thousands of shares and millions of e-mails this can add up to a significant sum.

The Internet is full of unsubstantiated rumors that develop lives of their own. Hughes dishes the notion that stock-tip scams benefit organized crime. True or not, playing the stock market is hard enough if you know what you are doing.

The modern world requires that we fight spam, and fight traffic. Both are overwhelming and make us want to move elsewhere.

If you have questions or suggestions for Charles Bermant, you can contact him by e-mail at cbermant@seattletimes.com. Type Inbox in the subject field. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.