Friday, July 18, 2008

'Angelina Jolie spam' spotted

Cybercriminals are using sensationalist news headlines in order to target computer users, it has been revealed. Research by IT security firm BitDefender has uncovered a new wave of spam messages using fake events relating to movie star Angelina Jolie to lure consumers into downloading Trojan malware. Vlad Valceanu, head of antispam research at the company, said the new attacks are part of a wider range of unsolicited mail messages, which use social engineering techniques to encourage consumers to install malware on their own PCs.

"In order to achieve their goals, spammers usually rely on international celebrities and their pictures, along with catchy, yet fake news leads," he added.
Mr Valceanu went on to say the attacks are clearly proving successful as the group has seen an escalation in recent months. Earlier this week, IT security firm Sophos carried out research indicating just one out of every 28 emails is not spam.

news source : http://www.ihotdesk.com/

No comments: