Threat Bulletin: 'Tis the season to be spamming
- 18 December, 2009 10:59
With Christmas just around the corner, the Symantec Security Response Team has observed that spammers are hard at work generating Christmas-related spam: http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/ho-ho-ho-spammers-christmas-gifts-you, including gift shopping offers, greeting cards and courier services in an attempt to lure computer users to open these emails. Many of them have Christmas themed key words in the header to lure users to open emails. Examples of festive-themed headers include:
Subject: Merry Christmas
Subject: Delight a child with a personalized letter from Santa
Subject: Personalised Christmas Gifts for Everyone on your list
Subject: Surprise your child with a gift delivered straight from the North Pole
Subject: Photo Christmas Cards - Fast Shipping
Subject: Christmas e-Card from Online Banking Team
Another interesting observation is that while Chinese spammers: http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/chinese-christmas-gift-shopping-options, are relatively less active at this time of year, the increasing popularity of the Christmas holiday among the younger Chinese generation has also generated a wave of Chinese Christmas spam.
Symantec advises Internet users to follow best practices to avoid falling victim to spammers. Here are some basic tips:
• Do not click on suspicious links from emails.
• Check the URL of the website and make sure that it belongs to the brand.
• Type the domain name of your brand directly in your browser rather than following any link.
• Frequently update security software, such as Norton Internet Security 2010: http://www.symantec.com/norton/internet-security, which protects against unwanted emails with professional-strength anti-spam.
Please let me know if you would like to speak with a Symantec security expert about this threat and what computer users can do to prevent falling victim to this attack.
Media Contact:
Jasmin Athwal
Max Australia
+61 2 9954 3492
jasmin.athwal@maxaustralia.com.au
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