Bucking some reports to the contrary, which find spam levels incrementally increasing over time, MessageLabs’ latest research paper claims that unsolicited e-mail dropped noticeably during Q3 2008, driven in part by the shutdown of a nefarious ISP. Despite the fact that the MessageLabs Intelligence Report for September/third quarter 2008 aligns the lowered volumes of spam observed during the timeframe directly to the shuttering of shady California-based ISP Intercage on Sept. 20, researchers predicted that the noticeable slowdown would likely be temporary as the holiday season gets into swing and scammers again seek to use those themes to lure end users.