Large payments made from users' credit cards always attract attention

Apr 17, 2012 10:29 GMT  ·  By

Cybercrooks have compromised websites and altered them to serve visitors nasty pieces of malware. To lure users to these sites, the masterminds of the scheme are spamming internauts with bill payment emails that pretend to originate from Verizon Wireless.

Commtouch Café provides a sample email that bears the subject Thank You for your Verizon Wireless Payment. The message informs recipients that their bill payment has been applied to their Verizon Wireless accounts.

Since the payment amount that’s shown in these scams usually exceeds $1,000 (700 EUR), unsuspecting users may rush to click on the “Manage Your Account Online” link that points to the compromised sites.

This is not the first time in the past month when we see scam emails that point users to malware-infested sites. Recently, we’ve also covered a similar plot that relied on the name of AT&T Wireless.

The bottom line is that no matter which company the emails purport to originate from, always think twice before rushing to click on links. Also, a good antivirus solution can, in many cases, get you out of trouble.

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