14 DAY TRIAL // TrendMicro, company that specializes in Internet content security, reports that the Storm botnet is once again attempting to propagate its malicious software. The means to do so is by sending out spam messages which inform about a financial crisis that will engulf the world's economy. A link is of course provided and you are invited to click on it, but by doing so you may become infected with the Storm worm, and your computer will end up as just another zombie in the Storm botnet.
According to the spam message, the NACU (North American Currency Union) is secretly planning to bring the currencies of North America, Canada and Mexico together, and come up with a new currency called "amero".
Here is an excerpt from the spam message itself: "You can forget about dollars. The U.S. Government began to realize the plan to replace the Dollar with the "Amero", the new currency of the North American Currency Union. Canada, the United States of America and Mexico have resolved to unit in order to resist the Worldwide Financial Crysis. You can become acquainted with the plan of the implementation of Amero, just click on the icon underneath this text."
Users should be warned that there is no such organization, and there never was. It is all noting but a clever scheme that the spammer has come up with in order to make the message seem believable.
"Neither amero nor the North American Currency Union exists of course, as these remain ideas only, at least for today. Conspiracy theories abound, however; there are rumors about secret pacts between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but these remain unsubstantiated. Last year, there were reports of the United States Treasury issuing amero coins, but this was later proven to be untrue," says Jake Soriano from TrendMicro.
As a rule of thumb you should not open unsolicited mail, but if you can't resist the temptation, you should at least not click on any links provided in said mail. Keep in mind that believable, accurate news come from trusted sites and news portals, not from spam messages. Not only will you be misinformed, you will become infected and aid in the expansion of the Storm botnet.