According to her experts Kaspersky Lab, in September, spammers developed newer versions of the “Nigerian Letter” scam, using the Ebola virus as a theme in several mass-sent messages. Much of the mass themed quests also promoted various services using popular social networking sites, as spammers promised an instant influx of new customers and increased income.
"Spammers usually try to take advantage of extraordinary news and events that are in the news. Fraudsters rarely miss the opportunity to use important events to attract users' attention and convince them that their fraudulent messages are really. So after the first news about the virus Ebola in July, it was surprising that as early as September, launched relevant bulk mail email spam, which exploited this news to deceive the recipients and to squeeze the money " comments Tatyana Shcherbakova, Senior Spam Analyst of Kaspersky Lab.
The landscape spam in numbers
Σύμφωνα με την ανάλυση της Kaspersky Lab, τα μηνύματα spam αντιστοιχούσαν κατά μέσο όρο στο 66,5% του συνόλου των email το Σεπτέμβριο, εμφανίζοντας μείωση 0,7 ποσοστιαίων μονάδων σε σχέση με τον Αύγουστο. Το οικονομικό Phishing αντιστοιχούσε στο 36,97% των messages spam detected by anti-phishing mode of Kaspersky Lab solutions, marking an increase of 1,7 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Main sources of spam messages were the US (12%), Vietnam (9,3%) and Russia (5,8%), while most viruses were detected in Germany (9,11%), the UK (8,45%) and US (8,26%) to follow.
"Infected" spam
An example of the “Nigerian Letter” scam with base τον ιό Έμπολα που εντόπισαν οι ειδικοί της Kaspersky Lab, αφορούσε ένα email που υποτίθεται ότι προερχόταν από μία πλούσια κυρία από τη Λιβερία, η οποία έχασε τη ζωή της λόγω του ιού. Περιείχε μια μακροσκελή ιστορία για τα παιδιά της που πέθαναν από τον ιό και για ένα τοπικό ιατρικό κέντρο που αρνήθηκε να τη βοηθήσει. Η υποτιθέμενη κυρία ήταν πρόθυμη να δωρίσει πάνω από $1,5 εκατ. σε έναν παραλήπτη, ο οποίος θα διοχέτευε αυτό το ποσό σε φιλανθρωπίες.
The authors of another fraudulent mass spam email were recommended as World Health Organization workers and tested an unusual tactic to attract attention. In particular, they invited readers to a conference in which discussions on the Ebola virus and other medical issues would take place. They also offered a job to the addressee, with annual wages reaching € 350.000. The benefits included a corporate car to take up the position of a WHO representative. in the UK.
Among the most unusual spam email of the month, Kaspersky Lab encountered messages addressed to collectors. These messages provided English-speaking users with a free book on British Legacy from the First World War. Emails with the generous offer are supposed to come from SSAFA, a charity established to help British war veterans and their families.
The full version of Kaspersky Lab's Spam Scene Report in September is available on the site Securelist.com.
