Spam Mails Masquerading as WhatsApp Circulating, Cautions Webroot

According to Webroot, the security company, spam mails posing as messages from WhatsApp an instant-messaging (IM) software program used across platforms that caters to more than 300m subscribers actively using the application at present are presently getting distributed for maligning as many computers as possible.

The most recent version of the junk e-mail run presently asserts that there's certain "1 New Voicemail/ Voice Message Notification" e-mail for the user to read from his inbox.

Disturbingly, Webroot indicates that the attached file regarding so-called voicemail is a fake that also carries one Trojan downloader, which apparently pulls down more malware via its central command-and-control (C&C) system.

Webroot says that this additional malicious program has been detected as Trojan.Win32.Sharik.qhd.

However, luckily, Virus Total's 31 AV scanners from a total 48 have been able to detect this new malicious program, making the detection rate high for the threat.

Besides of concern is that it's because of the aforementioned kind of malware-laden junk e-mail runs which are resulting in malicious software online, remark security researchers from Webroot, who examined the currently spreading malevolent campaign on the internet.

The WhatsApp firm, in the meantime, again and again rejected the e-mails through its website post describing them as hoaxes.

Specialists add that as spam campaigns keep on getting popular, similar as the above, combined with increasing messaging applications available online, the result is such tales get designed for constantly running, since people absolutely go on believing them.

Besides, the market image of WhatsApp has previously too being subjected to Internet scammers' exploitation. During the 1st-week of October 2013, ThreatTrack Security another security company cautioned Internauts regarding bogus WhatsApp voicemail messages, which cyber crooks utilized for spreading bogus anti-viruses. If anyone followed the embedded web-links on those dubious WhatsApp e-mails, they were led onto a site, which delivered malicious software namely Kuluoz.B, which in turn installed WinWebSec onto infected PCs.

Therefore, in case anybody receives an e-mail asserting as WhatsApp communication, he must delete it right away. It's further advisable that users make their anti-virus software up to date before running a computer scan for eliminating such malware.

» SPAMfighter News - 11/5/2013