Image: http://modmyi.com/images/Messany/spam.jpg

If you haven’t already noticed, there’s an un-advertised “feature” that comes with Ping, Apple’s music social network introduced via iTunes 10 this week. The additional attribute referenced, of course, is spam. And a lot of it. Spammers have surrounded Ping like the paparazzi on Lindsay Lohan outside of a night club. Making matters worse, however, is that sophisticated spammers are targeting legitimate users with “Apple products,” and corresponding links claiming to give away “free iPhones” and bestow other unbelievable deals you can’t possibly pass up – all in return for filling out a “simple survey.”

But it isn’t just a few sensitive users bugged by these spammers. Even security firm Sophos is concerned, observing on its official blog that Ping has become a bedrock of spam saying that thew new social network is now “drowning in scams and spams.” Because Ping doesn’t have any spam filter (at least not at present), rampant spamming has become a major issue only days after the social network’s launch.

“If half as many free iPads, iPhones and iPods were being given away as Ping comments might lead you to believe, there will be no reason to bother with going to an Apple Store,” a security expert with Sophos wrote. “But if…