Security news18 May 2007
Fake digital camera order spam hits Australia Email claims that credit cards will be charged AU $850
Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, has reminded computer users to think twice about the veracity of email following a widescale spam campaign which hit email inboxes this week.
The emails, which claim to come from Dell's online store, appear to have been deliberately targeted at Australian internet users and say that an order for an AU $805 Canon digital camera has been accepted and the recipient's credit card will be duly charged.
The spammed emails claim to come from Dell.
Visiting the link contained inside the email, which is presented as a numerical IP address rather than a more usual name, could potentially infect the user's computer with a malicious code or take them to a website designed to steal information for the purposes of identity theft.
"You know you didn't buy the camera. Either the transaction is false, because someone used your credit card, or the email is false, because someone is trying to scare you into clicking. Either way, the whole thing stinks," said Paul Ducklin, head of technology Sophos Asia Pacific. "If you want to contact the alleged vendor, or your credit card company, in cases like this, initiate the contact yourself based on your own information, not based on what the email tells you. Go to a search engine, or type in the vendor's URL. This gives you a much better chance of getting to the real site and getting a real answer."
Dell Australia has published a warning about the email on its website, confirming that they have not sent the emails and that users should be on their guard. According to media reports, Dell's phone lines were jammed as Australian users rang up to query the email.
Sophos has been proactively blocking access to the website referred to in the email since 24 April 2007 with its web security appliance and can also prevent users from receiving the email in the first place through its email gateway solutions.
Sophos reminds users to be wary of unsolicited emails, and has published information about how individuals can learn how to protect themselves against this and other phishing attacks. Recent research by the company revealed that on average 8,193 new webpages are found each day containing malicious content.
Organizations concerned about being fraudulently represented in phishing campaigns can sign up to the Sophos early warning system, Sophos PhishAlert.
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More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.
