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Spammers Exploit Michael Jackson’s Death
Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
2009-06-26
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
IT security firm Sophos is warning users to be on the lookout for spam messages using the untimely death of music legend Michael Jackson to harvest computer users' email addresses for future spam campaigns.
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Spammers Exploit Michael Jackson's Death |  |
About 8 hours after Jackson's death yesterday, Sophos detected the first wave of spam messages taking advantage of the breaking news in the subject line and body of the email.
In these messages, the spammer claims that they have vital information about the death of Michael Jackson to share. The body of the email does not contain any call to action links and the from email address is bogus. However the spammer can easily obtain the recipients email addresses via a free live email address if computer users reply to the spam message.
"The untimely death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has sent shockwaves through the entire world - but unfortunately, this type of huge news story is also the perfect vehicle for spammers to snare vulnerable computer users," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "These spammers are relying on curious users to reply to their bogus claims - but if you receive one of these messages you just need to delete it."
We've also discovered cybcercriminals taking advantage of the sad death of 70s TV icon Farrah Fawcett to spread fake anti-virus software, so users should certainly remain vigilant."
"The fact is that cybercriminals have no respect for taste and decency. The only thing they are interested in is making some money for themselves, and turning other computer users' lives into a misery."
View All Articles by Mike Sachoff
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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