14 DAY TRIAL // Kaspersky has released it spam report for May 2013. According to the study, there were two particularly interesting spam campaigns aimed at Microsoft customers last month.
In the first scam, crooks sent out emails that notified recipients of a “Microsoft Windows Program Account Verification.”
“We wish to bring to your attention that your Microsoft Windows Records will be Permanently suspended within the next 48 hours due to failure to update your records has advised in our previous messages,” the bogus emails read.
They continue, “Failure to verify your account will lead to PERMANENT ACCOUNT SUSPENSION. A case ID “488-291-148” would be closed within the next 48 hours. You are hereby advised to verify your records immediately by clicking on your case ID number below for verification.”
Users who click on the links from these emails are taken to a phishing website that’s designed to harvest personal information.
Kaspersky has also identified a lottery scam that leverages the reputation of the Redmond giant.
“We are pleased to inform you that the results of the Microsoft email lottery winning held yesterday in London United Kingdom has been released. This promotion was set-up to encourage the active email user, as Microsoft is ever present in all your online activities to make your surfing and emailing a much better friendly environment,” one variant of the scam reads.
According to Kaspersky experts, some of the lottery scam emails asked victims to hand over personal information, while others asked for a small payment to allegedly cover the processing costs.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, related to a similar bogus Google lottery, major companies will never hand out money to random users. Always remember this to avoid falling victim to such scams.
