2009’s Top Ten E-mail Blunders

Security firm Proofpoint has just recently issued its "Top 10 Terrifying E-Mail Blunders of 2009" list.

URL Zone Trojan is the first mishap mentioned in the list which took place in September 2009. It reportedly spread via compromised websites and e-mails, and simply drained off users' bank accounts. The Trojan was so strategically developed that it could even create fake bank statements to cover up the fraud.
The e-mail blunder that has been listed second was regarding FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was barred from online banking by his wife after he had almost surrendered his personal information to a phishing website.

The third biggest e-mail scam, according to Proofpoint, took place in August. The White House distributed several e-mails explaining its stand on the controversial health reform issue. It was conducted through an e-mail account which was created to collect and spread rumors; however, the messages were claimed to be unsolicited by some recipients.

Next is Hotmail phishing scam that took place in early October. Learning the scam, Microsoft blocked thousands of Hotmail accounts, believing that they had been hacked.

Fifth blunder in the list is the Start-up Suicide e-mail scam that occurred in September 2009. RockYou, social media advertising and applications start-up, distributed mass e-mail to the associates and clients. The e-mail announced their latest site redesign in an improper way, and unsurprisingly most of the addresses landed on the spammer's list.

The sixth e-mail blunder took place in August wherein Rocky Mountain Bank, based in Wyoming, by mistake sent personal data of over 1,300 customers to a particular Gmail address.
The seventh e-mail blunder was related to payroll. Some PayChoice customers reportedly became victims of a spear-phishing scam in the month of September. These users received an e-mail which suggested them to install a browser plug-in so as to continue accessing the online portal of the company. This installed software was actually malware.

HMRC related forged e-mails in the UK stands at the eighth position in the list. At ninth position is the IRS related phony tax e-mail, and at tenth position is the blunder in which the University of San Diego sent an acceptance e-mail to all the 46,000 freshman applicants rather than informing the actual 18,000 students who had been enrolled in the University.

Related article: “Loopholes did not cause online banking thefts”: ICBC

» SPAMfighter News - 11/5/2009