In a latest report by MessageLabs, the security firm has revealed that the global ratio of spam in email traffic was 81.5% in the month of June, while the average spam level for the entire US reached 86%.

This report is based on 3 billion email connections scanned by MeassageLabs every day and is specific to the US. It also includes the list of 10 most spammed US states - Illinois (92.1%), South Dakota (90.9%), Oregon (89.1%), New Hampshire (88.5%), Wisconsin (88.2%), North Carolina (88%), Indiana (87.6%), Texas (87.5%), Pennsylvania (87.1%), and Alabama (87%).

To download the complete list of states in MS Excel format, click here.

According to Matt Sergeant, Senior Anti-Spam Technologist at MessageLabs, the varying spam levels across states can be attributed to different socio-economic factors and levels of security awareness in each state. The states experiencing higher spam levels either don't place as high a priority on IT security overall or employees and businesses may be more willing to share their personal contact information in public domains. When email addresses are openly available, spammers take advantage of it and inundate those inboxes with massive amounts of spam.

Along with increasing spam levels, several new and different types of spam are also at rise. It is being mailed out in smaller, more targeted batches and spammers are using varying approaches like celebrity names and current events to grab attention, Sergeant added.