Spam Mails on Natural Disasters & Rising Fuel Prices Abound

Security vendor, Symantec, is warning e-mail users to be wary of scam e-mails that are seeking donations for victims of natural calamities in China and Myanmar and also warning against spam that are taking advantage of rising gas prices. The company said that for these scams, the criminals are using a genuine Website to which they added a fake page with the help of the actual domain.

Symantec said that it detected the spam a few days after the Myanmar cyclone. The spam solicited recipients to contribute money. But, when users clicked on the URL link embedded in the message, they were led to a fraudulent Website and requested to make the donation.

About 4-5 days following the cyclone, charity spam messages similar to 419-scam spam appeared. The spammer, using the typical 419-scam fashion, asked the recipients to contribute money for the tragedy-struck victims so that they could ease their conscience.

However, the fake e-mail cautioned that users wishing to donate for charitable causes need to check the legitimacy of the e-mail/Website used while donating the money. It also pretended to remind that donations need to be made only through secure sites and that a secure site was one that showed a padlock symbol at the browser's bottom right corner.

Meanwhile, Symantec further reported that it has spotted several spam mails that are cashing in on the high fuel prices. These e-mails offer free gas cards and products that exaggerate improved fuel consumption. Spammers, in one instance, even insist that one device is available with which consumers could overcome the high gas costs by making use of water in place of gas to run their vehicles.

Hence, Security Experts at Symantec said that surfers, who desired to contribute for charitable reasons, should first check the legitimacy of the sites they contribute through. Also, secure Websites could be recognized via the padlock sign on the browser.

Furthermore, recently in June 2008, Symantec summarized in its "State of Spam" report that spammers also took advantage of the US economic slowdown during October-November 2007 to extort personal information.

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» SPAMfighter News - 7/4/2008