14 DAY TRIAL // With over a month to go until the first part of the Harry Potter and The Deadly Hallows movie is set to hit the big screens, spammers have already began cashing in on the increased public interest surrounding it.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final installment in the Harry Potter series and is split in two parts, the first of which will be released on November 19.
As with many other popular films, cybercriminals are expected to target the fans in various ways, but it's not very common for attacks to start one month in advance.
Security researchers from Symantec report intercepting spam emails promising the chance to win free tickets for the upcoming movie.
The emails have a subject from "Movie tickets and book collection" and purport to come from "Box Office Rewards."
The messages contain a well designed banner reading "Get free tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Participation required. See below for details."
Another part of the page shows the Harry Potter book collection and reads "BONUS! Sign up today and get all 7 Harry Potter books!"
Users, who click the "Submit" button are taken to a form where they are asked to provide their email address and other personal information.
Afterward they get redirected to a page claiming they won a "complementary" three nights vacation at a Cancun luxury resort. According to the spammers, all they have to do is call a phone number.
Symantec researcher Samir Patil points out that the previous movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was also targeted by spammers, but to a lesser extent, because at the time they were focusing on Michael Jackson's death.
"However, this time we have noticed an early spam wave and we’re expecting it to grow as the release date draws nearer," he warns.
