Exploiting worries over the swine flu outbreak, spammers flooded the Internet on Monday with millions of e-mails peddling counterfeit drugs as remedies and seeking to steal credit card data, a security firm said.
Many of the e-mails direct recipients to websites for fake online pharmacies, according to McAfee Inc, the world's second-largest security software maker.
They offer promised treatments for the virus.
"You are not getting what you think you are buying," said the firm's director of research, Dave Marcus.
In some cases, the websites simply use the ploy to steal credit card data or to deliver counterfeit drugs, Marcus said.
McAfee estimated that the swine flu spam, which began trickling out over the weekend, accounted for 3 to 4 percent of all e-mail spam on Monday.
Governments around the world rushed to reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic on Monday as a virus that has killed 103 people in Mexico and spread to the United States and Canada also reached Europe.
SOURCE : http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE53Q5Z220090427
Many of the e-mails direct recipients to websites for fake online pharmacies, according to McAfee Inc, the world's second-largest security software maker.
They offer promised treatments for the virus.
"You are not getting what you think you are buying," said the firm's director of research, Dave Marcus.
In some cases, the websites simply use the ploy to steal credit card data or to deliver counterfeit drugs, Marcus said.
McAfee estimated that the swine flu spam, which began trickling out over the weekend, accounted for 3 to 4 percent of all e-mail spam on Monday.
Governments around the world rushed to reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic on Monday as a virus that has killed 103 people in Mexico and spread to the United States and Canada also reached Europe.
SOURCE : http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE53Q5Z220090427
Labels: 419 scam, Email fraud, email scam, email spam, Nigerian Scam, Nigerian Spam, Nigerianspam, spam
Posted on Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Better Business Bureau serving Mississippi is warning the public to beware of letters supposedly from Publishers Clearing House which claim that they have won a grand prize drawing of $1 million. Despite how official the letters might look, the recipient is the target of a widespread scam that is seeing a sudden resurgence across the country.
Perhaps, not surprisingly, the increased prevalence of this scam comes on the heels of the actual Publishers Clearing House awarding a New Jersey woman $5,000 a week for the rest of her life. Scammers often steal their hooks from the headlines and operate in the wake of newsworthy events, such as Publishers Clearing House giving out a prize, because they know it'll be on top of people's minds."
How it works
How the scam operates is that victims receive a letter supposedly from Publishers Clearing House claiming that they have won $1 million as the second-place winner of a drawing sponsored by Reader's Digest Magazine. The letter is accompanied by a check for as much as $5,900 with instructions to call the Publishers Clearing House representative listed in the letter.
Over the phone, the victims are told that, in order to receive their prize, they must cash the check and then wire approximately $4,000 to Publishers Clearing House and then the rest of the winnings will be sent to them. The check, however, is fraudulent and any money wired to the scammers cannot be recovered.
Remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Online shopping
A recent Better Business Bureau survey conducted by Kelton Research finds that 6 in 10 adult online shoppers are worried about their personal information being sold or reused when completing online transactions.
The BBB offers the following advice to help make online shopping a safe and easy experience:
Perhaps, not surprisingly, the increased prevalence of this scam comes on the heels of the actual Publishers Clearing House awarding a New Jersey woman $5,000 a week for the rest of her life. Scammers often steal their hooks from the headlines and operate in the wake of newsworthy events, such as Publishers Clearing House giving out a prize, because they know it'll be on top of people's minds."
How it works
How the scam operates is that victims receive a letter supposedly from Publishers Clearing House claiming that they have won $1 million as the second-place winner of a drawing sponsored by Reader's Digest Magazine. The letter is accompanied by a check for as much as $5,900 with instructions to call the Publishers Clearing House representative listed in the letter.
Over the phone, the victims are told that, in order to receive their prize, they must cash the check and then wire approximately $4,000 to Publishers Clearing House and then the rest of the winnings will be sent to them. The check, however, is fraudulent and any money wired to the scammers cannot be recovered.
Remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Online shopping
A recent Better Business Bureau survey conducted by Kelton Research finds that 6 in 10 adult online shoppers are worried about their personal information being sold or reused when completing online transactions.
The BBB offers the following advice to help make online shopping a safe and easy experience:
- Protect your computer. Keep it updated with the latest spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a secure firewall.
- Use trustworthy, secure Web sites. Secure web sites have an "s" in https:// - and in the lower right corner there should be a padlock symbol.
- Protect your personal information. Read the site's privacy policy to understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used. If there is no privacy policy posted, then consider that as a warning that your information may be shared with others without your permission.
- Beware of email phishing. Legitimate businesses do not send e-mails claiming problems with an order or an account in order to lure you into revealing financial information.
- Trust your instincts. Beware of offers that sound too good to be true.
SOURCE : http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20090417/LIFESTYLE20/904170318
Labels: 419 scam, Email fraud, Nigerian Scam, Nigerian Spam, scam, spam
Posted on Saturday, April 18, 2009
An official-looking e-mail letter that purports to be from the IRS and orders recipients to divulge personal information is a scam, authorities said.
The letter carries a masthead, "Internal Revenue Service IRS.gov," and it questions the recipient's residency status. It asks people to fill out forms, including one that asks for bank account numbers.
The e-mail is the latest incarnation of a prolific scam that has been going on a while, IRS spokesman Jesse Weller said.
The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails about a person's tax account and never asks via e-mail for detailed personal and financial information such as bank account and credit card numbers, he said.
"It keeps morphing," Weller said of the scam, known as phishing. "They change the form and the look of the e-mail.
"It's similar to spam. They send out millions of them, and they only need to reply to steal their identity."
In 1996, the IRS established an inbox, "phishing@irs.gov," for people to send suspicious e-mails.
The agency has received about 33,000 forwarded electronic mails, reflecting more than 1,000 incidents.
Weller warned people not to open any attachment, and not to click on links in the messages.
Doing so may download a Trojan Horse that can damage the computer or allow remote access to the hard drive.
If people do click on an attachment, they should make sure the computer's virus protection is current and run a scan immediately. If you have spyware, run a scan for that, too, Weller said
SOURCE : http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1338700.html
The letter carries a masthead, "Internal Revenue Service IRS.gov," and it questions the recipient's residency status. It asks people to fill out forms, including one that asks for bank account numbers.
The e-mail is the latest incarnation of a prolific scam that has been going on a while, IRS spokesman Jesse Weller said.
The IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails about a person's tax account and never asks via e-mail for detailed personal and financial information such as bank account and credit card numbers, he said.
"It keeps morphing," Weller said of the scam, known as phishing. "They change the form and the look of the e-mail.
"It's similar to spam. They send out millions of them, and they only need to reply to steal their identity."
In 1996, the IRS established an inbox, "phishing@irs.gov," for people to send suspicious e-mails.
The agency has received about 33,000 forwarded electronic mails, reflecting more than 1,000 incidents.
Weller warned people not to open any attachment, and not to click on links in the messages.
Doing so may download a Trojan Horse that can damage the computer or allow remote access to the hard drive.
If people do click on an attachment, they should make sure the computer's virus protection is current and run a scan immediately. If you have spyware, run a scan for that, too, Weller said
SOURCE : http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1338700.html
Labels: 419 scam, Nigerian Scam, Nigerian Spam, scam, spam
Posted on Friday, April 17, 2009
The Better Business Bureau is warning the public to beware of letters that appear to have been sent from Publishers Clearing House and which claim the recipient has won a prize of $1 million.
The BBB says despite how convincing the letters look, they are actually part of a widespread scheme targeting consumers nationwide.
The BBB says the rising popularity of the scheme comes on the heels of the real Publishers Clearing House awarding a New Jersey woman a prize of $5,000/week for the rest of her life.
Experts say scammers take their con game cues from the headlines knowing the subject will be top of mind.
The current scheme involves a letter, purportedly from Publishers Clearing House claiming the recipient has won $1 million as the second place winner of a drawing sponsored by Reader's Digest.
The letter is accompanied by a check for as much as $5,900 with instructions to call the Publishers Clearing House Representative listed in the letter.
When victims call the number they are told that in order to receive their prize they must cash the check and then wire approximately $4,000 to Publishers Clearing House and that the rest of the winnings will be sent to them. The BBB, however, says the check is a fraud and any money wired cannot be recovered.
Since March reports of the scheme have been reported in 19 states including California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. In some cases people have not just received letters, but also phone calls from representatives pretending to be with Publishers Clearing House.
While individuals are the target of the scheme, the BBB warns business owners that their company's name could be used to pull off the con. The fraudulent checks being sent to the "prize winners" are copies of checks stolen from legitimate businesses.
SOURCE : http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ID=WQfRkhVKd_n&ZURL=%2FExposing%2BScams%2Fnews%2Farchive&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wkyc.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fnews_article.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D110477%26catid%3D3
The BBB says despite how convincing the letters look, they are actually part of a widespread scheme targeting consumers nationwide.
The BBB says the rising popularity of the scheme comes on the heels of the real Publishers Clearing House awarding a New Jersey woman a prize of $5,000/week for the rest of her life.
Experts say scammers take their con game cues from the headlines knowing the subject will be top of mind.
The current scheme involves a letter, purportedly from Publishers Clearing House claiming the recipient has won $1 million as the second place winner of a drawing sponsored by Reader's Digest.
The letter is accompanied by a check for as much as $5,900 with instructions to call the Publishers Clearing House Representative listed in the letter.
When victims call the number they are told that in order to receive their prize they must cash the check and then wire approximately $4,000 to Publishers Clearing House and that the rest of the winnings will be sent to them. The BBB, however, says the check is a fraud and any money wired cannot be recovered.
Since March reports of the scheme have been reported in 19 states including California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. In some cases people have not just received letters, but also phone calls from representatives pretending to be with Publishers Clearing House.
While individuals are the target of the scheme, the BBB warns business owners that their company's name could be used to pull off the con. The fraudulent checks being sent to the "prize winners" are copies of checks stolen from legitimate businesses.
SOURCE : http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ID=WQfRkhVKd_n&ZURL=%2FExposing%2BScams%2Fnews%2Farchive&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wkyc.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fnews_article.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D110477%26catid%3D3
Labels: 419 scam, Nigerian Scam, Nigerian Spam, scam, spam
Posted on Wednesday, April 1, 2009
A Single Infected PC Spawns Spam by the Millions
California-based Marshal8e6 deliberately infected machines in the lab of its research arm, TRACElabs, with the malware responsible for the world's nine biggest spam botnets, then observed the PCs' behavior, including each bot's top-end spam capacity.
"One of the our objectives over the past few years has been to emphasize the dominant role that a handful of key botnets play in the spam we see today," said Phil Hay, a senior threat analyst with TRACElabs, in an e-mail today.
TRACElabs concluded that Rustock and Xarvester, the latter perhaps linked to the down-and-out Srizbi botnet, are the most efficient spam-spewers of the nine bots. Each is capable of sending up to 25,000 messages per hour, or 600,000 per day, and 4.2 million per week.
The next-most effective spam bot, said TRACElabs, is Mega-D, one of the bots that took advantage of the November 2008 takedown of McColo Corp., a hosting company that harbored the command-and-control servers for several big botnets, including Srizbi and Rustock.
When McColo's connection to the Internet was severed by its upstream providers -- in large part because of investigative work done by security researchers such as Joe Stewart, director of SecureWorks Inc.'s counterthreat unit -- spam volumes plunged as botnet controllers couldn't tell hijacked PCs what to do. Since then, however, spam has essentially returned to pre-McColo levels as a bot master resuscitated damaged botnets or unaffected botnets picked up new spamming customers, and thus the slack.
Some well-known names rated relatively low on TRACElabs' list. Waledac, which analysts have said is a successor to 2007-08's Storm bot, was recently in the news when it was installed by PCs infected with the Conficker worm. The botnet can cough up 7,000 messages an hour, or 168,000 a day.
According to TRACElabs, Rustock bots were responsible for 26% of the spam generated in the first quarter of 2009, with Mega-D and Pushdo not far behind at 22% and 18%, respectively. The other efficient bot -- Xarvester -- held fourth place, accounting for just 8% of all spam.
Today's revelations aren't the first to note that some botnets are far more efficient at spamming than others. In a botnet census he conducted a year ago this month, SecureWorks' Stewart said that Srizbi -- later the biggest loser in the McColo takedown -- was capable of delivering 60 billion spam messages per day.
SOURCE : http://www.pcworld.com/article/163695/a_single_infected_pc_spawns_spam_by_the_millions.html
Labels: Nigerian Scam, Nigerian Spam, Nigerianspam, scam, spam, spam news
Posted on Tuesday, April 28, 2009