In the past, we have seen spammers use election content in their spam campaigns. So, it comes as no surprise to see spam messages with a catchy subject relating to an upcoming political event. We have observed spammers sending out messages instructing recipients on how to “make money fast” with a subject line referring to the upcoming Lower House election in Japan, which will be held on Aug 30, 2009.
A message guides users to a website where it is said that they can obtain free information on how to make money fast with summer horse racing. However, after a recipient enters their email address for registration they will not receive profitable information but instead a message that has a link for a definitive registration to provide personal information. It is unknown whether the recipients will receive free information after providing their personal data.
Although there is no correlation between an election and summer horse racing, spammers lure people to...
From bank accounts to credit card numbers, personal information is at high risk as spammers are very fond of gathering data that will sell on the underground economy. Therefore, users are advised to be cautious and not expose their information (i.e. don’t submit personal details to questionable sites). So, what would you say if there is a service that protects your personal identification, such as a Social Security number? Would you be interested and want to find out more details? The answer should be “NO” if this offer is from a spammer.
Symantec has recently observed a message that appears to be a direct service promotion from an identity theft protection company, claiming that they can keep Social Security numbers away from risk:
As the Internet community continues to pay more attention to the reputation of websites and email senders, spammers are doing their best to hide behind well-established and reputable brands. Social networking sites have for some time now been used by spammers in the spam war. As more and more people become connected through social networking sites, it is not unusual to receive notifications of status update or sharing information from your friends. Symantec has recently observed a number of spam attacks claiming to be messages from various social networking sites.
One recent sample attempted to attract the attention of the recipient by using the following tactics: 1. Claiming to be from a social networking site 2. Indicating in the Subject line that message was from a social networking site 3. The message indicated that the recipient had a personal message.
A certain type of bank transfer scam, referred to as a “Hey-it’s-me” scam, seems to be on the rise in Japan these days. According to the National Police Agency in Japan, more than 20,000 cases of this type of scam were recorded in 2008—up from 17,930 cases in 2007. The “Hey-it's-me” scam is a common type of fraud in Japan that often plays out as follows: A scammer makes a phone call to an elderly person and says, “Hi grandpa, it’s me! I’m in big trouble and need some money. Could you transfer funds into my bank account?” Sometimes the scammers even use a name from a selection of the victim’s relatives by obtaining a list of students or employees beforehand. Recently, police have increased their efforts to thwart this type of scam by taking measures such as posting warning signs and placing police officers at ATMs.
While a scam carried out over the telephone receives greater local attention, people are now...
