Cyber-Crooks Unleash Malware Scams against Facebook Following Steve Jobs’ Demise

Internet-scammers, according to researchers from PandaLabs, are making the most of the unfortunate demise of Steve Jobs the founder of Apple via launching malware scams all over Facebook.

Within hours, following Job's demise, online-fraudsters crafted one Facebook web-page named "R.I.P. Steve Jobs" that consisted of a malevolent URL as well as a message about the distribution of fifty iPads for free as a mark to remember Steve Jobs. Every second 5 new followers accessed the page till there were over 90,000 followers.

However, the page has been deactivated, although more than 21,000 visitors to the website have by now contracted malware infection.

The malware campaigns reportedly work via cheating end-users into going to online sites that tell them they're winners of a TV set, an iPhone or iPad as a prize. Obviously, there's none, instead the unwitting victimized people get flooded with highly-perilous junk e-mails or SMS messages. Additionally, the malevolent sites make use of geo-location data for exhibiting various language-based e-mails that are as per the locations the victims reside in, PandaLabs explained.

Technical Director, Luis Corrons of PandaLabs stated that immediately when his organization learnt about Steve Jobs' death, it became certain that fraudsters would begin experimenting different ways for exploiting the news. It wasn't unnatural to have cyber-criminals cash in on breaking news-stories for disseminating their wares as also infecting as many victims as feasible within a brief time-span, Corrons noted. Cultofmac.com published this on October 6, 2011.

Considering the same situation, other security specialists too cautioned that more malware campaigns of potentially greater severity were expected henceforth.

Senior Technology Consultant, Graham Cluley at Sophos stated that cyber-criminals might create bogus charity websites related to Jobs for filching visitors' credit card details. Attackers would as well attempt at enticing end-users into loading malicious software through promises of non-existent movies alternatively other materials associated with Jobs. Likewise assaults happened when Japan was struck with the calamitous tsunami during March 2011 as well as when singer Amy Winehouse died, Cluley illustrated. SCMagazineUS.com published this on October 6, 2011.

Conclusively, according to Cluley, overall users require being cautious and rational regarding anything they click on.

Related article: Cyber Child abuser Sentenced To Imprisonment

» SPAMfighter News - 10/15/2011