Thanks to Anand Muralidharan for contributing to this blog.

Recently there was a serious bomb blast outside the high court in Delhi, the capital of India. The blast happened on September 7, 2011, and the investigations are continuing with the National Investigation Agency (NIA). News of this terrifying event is being used by spammers to promote fake pharmaceutical products. In the past we’ve seen Mumbai terror attack news used by spammers for advertising pills—we blogged about it in Spammers Attempting to Cash in on Mumbai Terror.

Below are some spam subject samples:

Subject: Delhi explosion
Subject: Bombing at Delhi court kills 10

The domains that are included with these latest spam messages lead users to fake online pharmacies. Using domain names...

Thanks to Amit Kulkarni for his contributions to this blog.

Since its launch, the Apple iPhone has been on the wish lists of most consumers.  The iPhone 4 has already made an impression in the marketplace, so it is obvious that spammers will make the best of this opportunity.  Symantec observed spam tactics just before the release of iPhone 4 and is expecting an even greater spam volume when iPhone 5 is released to the market.

The next generation of iPhone is expected to hit the market in September and spammers don’t want people to wait until the official release. Below is a sample of spammer hype campaigning to lure people into their trap. As usual, the bait is a survey one has to complete to be eligible to own “this coveted piece of art!”

 
When...

The five-time Grammy award winner Amy Winehouse was found dead in London on July 23rd. Symantec has already observed spammers who are trying to capitalize on related news headlines by sending out malicious threats less than a day after the news was released.

The two samples given below are examples that we have observed. These Portuguese-language attacks use similar spam techniques. All samples are sent from randomized individual email accounts with various subject lines related to the celebrity’s death in an attempt to lure interested readers to open a malicious URL. Immediately after the link is clicked, a pop-up window is shown, which asks users to download a file that is loosely disguised as an image or video file, for example (anything other than an executable).

The file is given a name that is related to the celebrity, and of course isn’t an image or video file, but a malicious binary. Symantec has detected the threats in these samples as...

It’s been a week since the 2011 edition of the oldest international soccer tournament in the world began, held this year in Argentina. I’m talking about the Copa America. This event is hosted by a South American country every three or four years during the summertime and lasts almost a month. Some say that this tournament is the American equivalent of the UEFA Euro Cup.

South American families and friends hang out together to enjoy the games, and users look for news and the latest results over the Internet. Just as with other important sporting competitions, Symantec has been observing spammers taking advantage of this event to announce multiple unsolicited offers and discounts that are purportedly linked to the soccer tournament.

The spam sample below invites users to visit a Web page that is offering medical equipment. The site also offers more products and discounts that are valid only during the tournament time.

Translation ...