Malicious spammers launch major fake anti-virus attack

SophosLabs’s worldwide network of email-monitoring stations has seen a tidalwave of malicious messages being spammed out with an attachment that redirects users’ web browsers to a fake anti-virus attack.

The emails have subject names such as:

• Parking Permit and/or Benefit Card Order Receipt – <random number>
• You’re invited to view my photos!
• Appointment Confirmation
• Your Bell e-bill is ready
• Your Vistaprint Order Is Confirmed
• Vistaprint Canadian Tax Invoice (<random number>)

By sending emails that pose as credit card charges and free-to-view holiday snaps from Bermuda, it wouldn’t be any surprise at all if some users clicked on the attached files (which go by names such as Benefit Card Order Receipt.html, Print this album.html, Appointment Confirmation.html, e-bill.html, Vistaprint Order…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus 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 security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.