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Double V Could Be Double Trouble
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-08-28
 Security News RSS Feed
Using a pair of Vs to make a W in a URL could lead to troubling results for the unwary web surfer.
Security firm Trend Micro has spotted the use of two letter Vs in place of a W in a phishing email. This phish tries to trick people into visiting a fake Western Union website.
Upon a mouseover of an ACTIVATE link to the phishing site, the URL vvestreunion.com appears. At a glance, the doubled V looks like a W. While someone may miss this, they should catch the other spelling error in this malicious URL.
The usual identity theft will happen to someone who enters their legitimate Western Union details into the phishing site. The nature of Western Union's money transfer business makes it very desirable to criminals, who can whisk money out of an account to someplace else in the world.
Trend Micro also saw the doubled V in play in July, courtesy of researchers at Sunbelt. The target then was Microsoft's Windows Update site, spelled as vvindowsupdate.com by (surprise, surprise) a Russian registrant.
That site could be the staging area for another round of phishing attempts. We're more concerned about Wells Fargo customers, as their URL could be copied by thieves as a double V just like the others, and a successful phish would certainly lead to financial losses.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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