Spammers go "Full Throttle" on Auto Recalls

One of the world's biggest automakers has recently been in the headlines because of necessary recalls. Not only the affected vehicle owners, but people in general across the globe are curious and concerned about this issue. And of course, the spammers also seem to be keeping a close eye on the developments surrounding this issue and are working overtime to send out spam messages relating to the incident.

Right after the automaker made an announcement for recalls, Symantec observed a scam message using this event as a lure. This message appears to be targeting people who own vehicles involved in the recent recalls, and links to a site that claims to review the situation and assist in possible financial compensation. The recipients are directed to submit a report regarding his/her vehicle and also give personal information such as name, phone number, and email address.

 
Moreover, as the user tries to close the Web browser a pop-up screen will appear, which purports to be the start of an online conversation with an agent, who soon urges the user to provide additional details. At one point during this exercise, the user is advised to “Call our recall help-line,” when in fact there is only a submission form—no contact number is mentioned anywhere.
 

Any personal information submitted by innocent victims is often likely to be used by the attackers for future spam campaigns, or possibly sold. Users are advised to avoid clicking on any suspicious links in email messages and not to fill out forms in messages that ask for personal details. Symantec assists users with protecting their environment from various email threats. Check out our latest State of Spam and Phishing Report, where such security checklist items (Do’s and Don’ts) are outlined.

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Note: Thanks to Paresh Joshi for contributed content.