Mysterious stories about Michael Jackson still being alive have been developing on the Internet in the form of websites, discussion forums, as well as some news sites bringing in theories behind such stories. Even spammers do not wish to believe, or perhaps they don’t want to miss the prospect of tricking curious Internet users into opening their messages—particularly targeting those die-hard M.J. fans that would want him to live eternally. Michael Jackson-related spam and malware campaigns were discussed in detail in our July ’09 State of Spam report. More than three weeks after M.J.’s death have passed and there are continuous spam and malware campaigns still being waged. Spammers still feel confident that they can get users to open messages using Michael Jackson’s death and, now, the “Michael Jackson’s still alive” news. One example shows spoofed mail from a well-known social networking site paying tribute to M.J. by offering free M.J. pictures. However, users need to click on the picture inside the message, which is a malicious link detected as Trojan.Dropper by Symantec antivirus. Some recently monitored spam samples show that spammers are utilizing the “still alive” news of M.J. for their campaign. As shown below, the message inside is purely medication spam: Some sample subject lines: Message translated to English: The U.S. has often had many developments with us, and also now comes a novel breakthrough in America, of all people. Hope is that too many superfluous (unnecessary) pounds for you. Immediate and secure ordering and more information on the WWW at http: // www. [Message Details Removed] This revolutionary Diet medicine is particularly suitable for people who are not just a few pounds overweight, but actually having significant obesity and are also often ineffective diet treatments. In a completely new and revolutionary kind of support these Slim Line Products you reduce weight. It's almost like self-swallowing. Just a pill for breakfast and the rest makes it for your metabolism. Immediate and secure ordering and more information on the WorldWideWeb under http: // www. [Message Details Removed] With joyful regards Dr. Gabi Hausen <end of translation> Similar category spam in English informs users of M.J.’s resurrection. Again, this is spam, but this time it is selling enhancement pills at a cheap price. Perhaps still in shock over Michael Jackson’s death, getting carried away by the news of M.J. being alive, or closely following the idea of M.J.’s resurrection, users may be misled into opening unsolicited emails and clicking on malicious links. Michael Jackson’s music has enthralled us throughout his lifetime, but sadly, spammers are continually disrespecting this legend through their spam campaigns.