Hackers disguise malicious email attack as news from MSNBC

The hacking gang who have been bombarding internet users’ inboxes worldwide with dangerous emails claiming to be breaking news from CNN, have changed their disguise.

They’ve shrugged off their CNN gabardine suit and put on a fur-lined MSNBC jacket instead.

Here is a typical example, claiming that Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor has been found murdered:

Other subject lines used in the widely-spammed email campaign include:

• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: McCain told lies to win votes
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: Anthrax case solved
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: Preliminary polls for the election
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: Google launches free music downloads in China
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: Jerry Yang relinquishes control over Yahoo
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS: Apple September show highly anticipated
• msnbc.com – BREAKING NEWS:…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter, Mastodon, or Threads to read more of the exclusive content we post.

Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.