Spam

SophosLabs: Beware of malware lurking on news websites claiming to containing breaking news stories. I’ve seen a worrying number of Facebook users posting the same status messages today, claiming that the United States has attacked Iran and Saudi Arabia in a move heralding the beginning of World War 3. Well, that would certainly get your attention, wouldn’t it? A typical status message looks like the following: ...

The H-Security: Unknown attackers have tried to use an invitation to a prestigious conference to inject a Trojan into companies in the defense sector. The security firms Seculert and Zscaler report that opening an attached PDF flyer caused recipients’ computers to be infected with spyware via a previously undisclosed hole in Acrobat Reader. According to the report, the attack mainly targeted government-related organizations, including military and aerospace contractors, in Europe and in the US. The security firms said that the attacks started back in 2009 and peaked in autumn 2010. Talking to The H’s associates at heise Security, Seculert CTO Aviv Raff added that compromised computers, some of which had been infected for two years, were only discovered a few weeks ago. ...

SophosLabs: Facebook users are innocently sharing advice with their online friends about how women can avoid being kidnapped and raped, not realizing that they are perpetuating a hoax. Here’s a typical message that is being shared, which comes attached to an image of a young woman gagged and tied up in the trunk of a car. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY This message is for every Girl Who Goes to college or office alone.If u find any child carrying on road showing his/her address n asking u to take him/her to that address,take that child to police station n plz don't take it to that address . IT IS A NEW WAY GANGS TO STEAL,RAPE and KIDNAP GIRLS .plz circulate to all .don't feel shy to copy This as ur status . OUR ONE MESSAGE MAY SAVE A GIRL ...

Have you seen this in your or your friends wall? or maybe in a page you “Like”? That’s another spam link spreading over Facebook, as I already showed you many more in older posts. Usually these links end up either in a phishing attack that theft your private information or infecting your computer. If your friend or even a stranger is posting these, don’t click on that and also report the post, here is how to do: ...

SophosLabs: Gift card scams are a common sight on Facebook, and this weekend it has been the turn of Amazon.com to be the brand used by cybercriminals as a way of making them cash. One Free Amazon.com Gift Card (limited time only) [LINK] Amazon is currently giving away gift cards to all facebook users. Click here to get one! When you see one of your friends share a link like this with you, the truth is that they have been duped into a scam. Be careful not to make the same mistake as them, or you’ll just be helping put cash into the pockets of the bad guys. ...

Recently I’m seeing more facebook scams which claim to be very hot videos, but they are nothing but scam, here is 2 samples: When you see any of them, hover your mouse over the post, and click on the x button in top right which says “Report/Mark Spam”.

Symantec: The sad news making the rounds these days is the death of Steve Jobs, Apple Co-founder and former CEO. His death has been a terrible loss to both Apple and Apple fans everywhere. Spammers are capitalizing on this incident by sending malicious links related to the news of Steve Jobs’ death. Below is a screenshot of one such spam email containing a malicious link: More malicious links found relating to death spam are: ...

Sophos Labs: Twitter users are being hit today by messages claiming to link to a new app from Twitter which will track your stalkers. However, the messages are really designed to steal your Twitter usernames and passwords. Here’s a typical message that users are seeing: Twitter finally released an app that tracks your “Stalkers” get it here [LINK] If you click on the link you are taken to what appears to be a legitimate Twitter page, asking you to confirm your username and password before the “Stalkers” app can access your account. ...

Sophos Labs: Repeat after me: It’s “Facebook”, not “FaceBook”. Learn that lesson and it can be one of the tricks you can use to protect yourself against a spammed-out malware campaign, which tries to trick you into believing that Facebook support has changed your password. Computer users are receiving emails claiming that the popular social network has automatically changed their password to secure their account. Here’s a typical message: ...

SophosLabs: Are you in the habit of having complete strangers email you naked pictures of themselves? That’s the only reason I can think of that you can legitimately explain why your computer has been infected by the latest malware attack that has been spammed out around the world. Users are seeing messages in their inbox, which attempt to trick recipients into opening the attached file with the promise of a nude photo. ...

Spam mails claiming to be from Twitter that send you to pharmacy sites are a popular wheeze for spammers, and here we go again. It seems I have “two PR messages from Twitter”. If that wasn’t enough to get me clicking (it isn’t), I can also join in on sports conversations, argue with bloggers and tell the World when I stumble into some form of natural disaster. Hammering one of the many links will actually take me to 219(dot)84(dot)119(dot)56/afternoon(dot)html, which will send me to pharmacydrugstorehealthprofessionals(dot)net. ...

SophosLabs wrote: Do you want to know the total number of times that your Facebook wall has been viewed? Are you curious as to who may be stalking you on Facebook? If so, you’re a prime candidate for scammers who are exploiting that desire to put money into their own pockets. Here are the latest messages spreading virally between thousands of Facebook users who have fallen for the scam: ...

Symantec: Only a few days ago, Japan experienced one of the worst earthquakes in its history. The earthquake registered 8.9 on the Richter scale and triggered an enormous tsunami. The heart-wrenching images on television have left the world shaken. It was the worst earthquake and tsunami in the past century and at least 50 countries have since received related tsunami warnings. As the death and injury tolls continue to rise, one must not forget those who awake to exploit such delicate situations—spammers continue to maintain the guise of charitable institutions and governmental organizations! Don’t be surprised to suddenly see an email message in your inbox marked as URGENT and pleading with you for “monitory help” [sic] or a phishing mail urging you to donate to the rehabilitation of those affected by the quake and tsunami. Use prudence in finding out the genuine intent of email senders before you reach out or respond. ...

Thousands of Facebook users have been hit by a scam which claims to give them early access to a facebook.com email address. Messages, appearing in the news feed of users who have fallen for the scam, read: Just got my own email @facebook.com! Quickly get one before someone takes your name [LINK] However, clicking on the links leads you to a webpage which tricks you into giving a third party application permission to post to your Facebook wall. ...

Earlier this year I received a Facebook invite in my Yahoo! Mail account from none other than Angelina Jolie herself. I kid you not. While it’s true that we live in the Digital Age where communicating with anyone is a mere tap of a finger away—whether it’s via email, IM, Facebook, Twitter, etc.—the chances that Ms. Jolie would randomly reach out to a regular Joe, such as myself, is still pretty darn improbable. So, the following questions raced through my mind: ...