Cyber-criminals Exploiting Pixmania.com E-commerce Website

MX Lab the security company is cautioning Internauts that cyber-criminals are exploiting the widely visited Pixmania.com e-commerce site for spreading their malicious software.

The scam, involving e-mails, projects the caption, "Pixmania.com gift voucher code," and seems to tell the recipient that Stella has gifted him one voucher worth EUR 100, whose code can be found inside a given attachment. Moreover, the recipient requires clicking on the hyperlink, Pixmania.com where, by validating his account, he'll get a EUR 100 deposited into the same, the e-mail continues.

There's also effort for making the e-mail appear genuine to the reader so the message offers several suggestions as to the way he can utilize the gift coupon.

Further according to MX Lab's security researchers, the zipped attachment embedded on the fake e-mail carries one file sized 122KB and is labeled 'voucher.scr.'

And though looking like one innocuous screensaver, the file, in reality, is a PC-Trojan that AV software detected as WS.Reputation.1, Artemis!32D03167D51A, Trojan.Generic.KD.823865, or Win32/Kryptik.ARTR.

Disturbingly, this file, when created had merely 13 anti-virus (AV) engines out of the total 45 within VirusTotal as identifying it to be a threat.

However, irrespective of whatever the e-mails state, recipients won't really get the promised hundred euros. For, it's merely to entice them that the gift coupon is presented so they'll follow the spammed web-link i.e. 'pixmania.com.' Scammers behind these frauds, it's said, receive a commission through one deceptive associate marketing mechanism whenever anyone gets victimized with the trick, researchers remark.

Therefore, for staying safe from such malevolent schemes, Internet users must be extremely cautious about any electronic mail else message, which pledges free services else presents. The kind of e-mail frauds gifting vouchers is pretty frequent. Consequently, any 'offer,' which greatly emphasizes that users view a given attachment, prior to getting the much touted reward, must be considered highly suspicious, analysts of the currently-going malevolent scheme urge.

Eventually, within a likewise scam involving fake e-mails with so-called vouchers, targeted Woolworths back during August 2012 wherein the e-mails pledged serving one gift coupon valuing $50 to Internauts if they answered certain five-question opinion poll that supposedly was from Woolworths.

Related article: Cyber Attackers Move To Abandoned Sites

» SPAMfighter News - 1/23/2013