Malicious Spam Alert
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:15 pm
I wondered why my gmail spam filter started suddenly getting so many emails that looked like they were from CNN in the past couple of weeks.
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/08/msnbc-cnn-hit-b.htmlSpammers have upped the ante in their efforts to trick news consumers, switching from e-mails with tabloid-style headlines to impersonating major online news services. On Wednesday, e-mails that appeared to be from msnbc.com landed in inboxes worldwide, promising breaking news and confusing some recipients.
The spam unleashed Wednesday follows a massive campaign last week in which spammers impersonated CNN.com. That campaign saw 250 million spam messages sent in one intense 24 hour period, according to spam-fighting firm MX Logic Inc. Those e-mails appeared to include links to CNN's top 10 stories, but Internet users who were tricked into clicking on those links were sent instead to Web sites overseas that were booby-trapped with malicious software.
Recipients should immediately delete any unexpected e-mails purportedly from CNN, msnbc.com or any other firm that they haven’t done business with and authorized to contact them.
Users who open the fake CNN or msnbc.com e-mails and click on a link are in for a bad day if they fall for the ruse. Those who do are sent to Web sites that attempt to trick them into downloading what is described as a video player plug-in. Instead, the malicious software will infect the user's computer, ultimately giving hackers complete control over the machine. Infected computers are then used to send out even more spam.