Fake Phishing Showing “Dead” Castro Tricks into Installing Trojan

Bogus phishing e-mail showing former Cuban President, Castro, lying in a coffin with Venezuelan leader, Chavez, weeping, actually tricks to install a Trojan.

A malicious phishing e-mail is making the rounds on the Internet and enticing recipients into watching a fake video, posing to be from a well-known Hispanic TV news channel, showing Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba, resting in a coffin, while, Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader, stands by weeping, as reported by SCMAGAZINE on March 3, 2008.

In a posting to Websense's security blog, the company said that recipients, who click on the link pointing to the video, actually downloaded a Trojan from a malicious site hosted in Korea.

The fraud e-mail shows a Spanish-language message, dated February 28, 2008, under the label, "Univision.com Exclusivo." It also carries a logo representing the well-known TV network in Spanish language. The message informs readers that Castro suddenly succumbed to a heart attack on February 27, 2008.

As accords to Websense, the fraud e-mail in English reads that Fidel Castro, the former dictator of Cuba, has died during morning hours at his Languito residence. Also, the e-mail includes a fake video of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, in tears beside the dictator's coffin.

Th e-mail further, mentions about some other exclusive video and photos. It tells that, as per official news, Castro has been suffering critically for past few days and unexpectedly, has a heart attack. The message apparently depicts a photo showing Castro lying still.

According to reports from officials, Castro hasn't been speaking publicly for a year because he was ill and has undergone an emergency surgery. His only appearance is in brief film shots, showing Chavez on visits to the hospital to meet with Castro, as reported by SCMAGAZINE on March 3, 2008.

In a related news, Symantec, an Internet security vendor, posted warning in its Security Response blog in the second week of February 2008, against malicious e-mail message with subject heading "Hillary Clinton Full Video!!!". As the user clicks on the given link in the message, a malevolent Trojan, called Trojan Srizbi, installed onto the computer, which direct the victim's computer to receive and send other spam messages to users.

Related article: Fake Spam Mail Announces Australian PM’s Heart Attack

» SPAMfighter News - 3/15/2008