Perhaps spammers are keen to capitalize on winter depression; or maybe it’s the promise of another warm-blooded body in bed on a cold winter’s night. Regardless, the March 2010 Spam Report from McAfee shows a significant increase in what the security vendor calls “Russian Bride” spam.

“Unfortunately plane tickets cost money, which the voluptuous bride-to-be has none of, so the mark is told to send cash right away to arrange a meeting”, quipped report authors Adam Wosotowsky and Elan Winkler. “Perhaps she needs more to bribe some corrupt officials; perhaps she needs more because she didn’t see you at the meeting place. Whatever her issue, it will surely be solved if you just send her a bit more money.”

All kidding aside, their report suggests that spam offering buy-a-bride services from our Russian counterparts increased by 77% for the first six weeks of 2010 when compared to the final six weeks of the previous year.

Incidentally, Infosecurity notes, McAfee’s data show spikes in this type of spam about two weeks before Christmas (8 – 10%), and again in the week that followed leading up to New Years Day – trends that always seem to accompany major holidays. But the uptick in Russian Bride spam since the first day of 2010 registers at least 1% of all spam recorded by McAfee, most of the time flirting with 2% or even higher.

Fear not those seeking some spam variety. Just as the largest piles of snow begin to finally recede from the end of parking lots across the US, perhaps so too will Russian mail order-bride spam begin to dwindle in frequency with the spring to come.