14 DAY TRIAL // Vulnerabilities such as the one that affected the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol have made many users better understand the need for security updates. Cybercriminals have taken advantage of this and started sending their own “security update” notifications.
Hoax Slayer reports that an email with the subject “Security update KB971033 has been released” is currently making the rounds, landing in the inboxes of unsuspecting internauts.
After giving some decent advice on how to defend yourself against financial crimeware and identity theft, the fraudsters highlight the importance of security update products.
“We detected that you don't have installed Anti-spoofing update KB971033 from Microsoft, this update will protect you from accessing fake pages like phishing site by checking any accessed link without any delay in browsers and also will fix CVE-2012-3651 (Adobe auto-downloader) exploit, you can install it with just one click here [LINK],” reads part of the email.
To make everything even more legitimate-looking, the notification informs recipients that sometimes, if the customer isn’t careful during the automated installation process, some important updates may be skipped, thus exposing the computer to cyber threats.
Allegedly, the link from the email is a way of aiding users who may have omitted to apply the “anti-spoofing update.” However, when the link is clicked, the victim is not taken to an update site, but a malicious website that’s designed to serve dangerous pieces of malware.
Internauts are advised to be on the lookout for such schemes and refrain from clicking on links received in shady emails. Microsoft and other companies might care for your safety, but they will never send emails that contain attachments, or ones that link to suspicious third party sites.
Also, for this particular scheme, the name of the update, KB971033, may vary from one message to the other, but the notification itself will most likely remain the same.