http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Spam Reports Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2012 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 May 2012 05:35:13 GMT Tue, 29 May 2012 05:35:13 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://news.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Tumblr-Phishing-Scheme-Uses-Old-Login-Page-270978.shtml Tumblr users are advised to be careful who they become friends with and what links they click on, especially if they’re posted by a customer whose only messages read “follow me, I follow back.”

That’s exactly how the latest Tumblr phishing campaign begins. A shady user starts following random individuals, urging... (read more)]]> Tue, 22 May 2012 09:31:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Tumblr-Phishing-Scheme-Uses-Old-Login-Page-270978.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Tumblr-Phishing-Scheme-Uses-Old-Login-Page-270978.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Account-Cancelation-Requests-Lead-to-Malware-270959.shtml A shady-looking email, apparently originating from Facebook, has been seen in inboxes, informing users that the social media network has received an account cancelation request.

A variant of the fake notification, provided by Sophos, looks something like this:

We are sending you this email to inform you that w... (read more)]]> Tue, 22 May 2012 08:56:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Account-Cancelation-Requests-Lead-to-Malware-270959.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Account-Cancelation-Requests-Lead-to-Malware-270959.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Dating-Apps-Redirect-Android-Users-to-Potentially-Malicious-Sites-270868.shtml Experts have come across a couple of fake Facebook dating apps that apparently don’t cause any damage to users who install them, but they can clearly be used in malicious operations.

The apps are not made up by the cybercrooks. Instead, they took the Romanian and Spanish versions of an app called ... (read more)]]> Mon, 21 May 2012 14:44:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Dating-Apps-Redirect-Android-Users-to-Potentially-Malicious-Sites-270868.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Facebook-Dating-Apps-Redirect-Android-Users-to-Potentially-Malicious-Sites-270868.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/American-Express-Card-Emails-Point-to-Blackhole-Infested-Website-270822.shtml Emails apparently originating from American Express have been landing in inboxes, asking recipients to verify their user IDs and reset their passwords. In reality, the notifications are part of a scheme designed to trick users into visiting a website on which the Blackhole exploit kit is hosted.

Usually when we think ... (read more)]]> Mon, 21 May 2012 13:35:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/American-Express-Card-Emails-Point-to-Blackhole-Infested-Website-270822.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/American-Express-Card-Emails-Point-to-Blackhole-Infested-Website-270822.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Work-from-Home-Scheme-and-Malware-Served-on-Fake-BBC-Site-270776.shtml It’s not uncommon for us to find shady websites that replicate the ones of the BBC, or Channel 5 News in an attempt to advertise fake work-from-home jobs. However, it’s somewhat unusual to find such sites that bring something extra, such as the Blackhole exploit kit and a nasty Trojan.

The domain in question, bbc... (read more)]]> Mon, 21 May 2012 11:45:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Work-from-Home-Scheme-and-Malware-Served-on-Fake-BBC-Site-270776.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Work-from-Home-Scheme-and-Malware-Served-on-Fake-BBC-Site-270776.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Scam-Users-by-Promissing-Walmart-Credit-270747.shtml A large number of emails that promise recipients Walmart credit worth $75 (57 EUR) have been seen landing in inboxes in the past few days. The shady notifications are part of a phishing campaign designed to trick users into handing over sensitive information.

“Wal-Mart Stores, Inc will add credit to your account just for beeing... (read more)]]> Mon, 21 May 2012 09:57:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Scam-Users-by-Promissing-Walmart-Credit-270747.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Scam-Users-by-Promissing-Walmart-Credit-270747.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-IPO-Subscription-Partnership-Proposal-419-Scam-Making-Rounds-270589.shtml How do you react if you receive an email from a company that claims you can make easy money by purchasing and selling Facebook shares? Whatever your answer may be now, we’ll make sure to give you the right one by the end of this article.

Security experts from Symantec have come across a new scam email that ... (read more)]]> Sat, 19 May 2012 09:49:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-IPO-Subscription-Partnership-Proposal-419-Scam-Making-Rounds-270589.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-IPO-Subscription-Partnership-Proposal-419-Scam-Making-Rounds-270589.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Norton-Protection-Authentication-Scam-Targets-Email-Credentials-269953.shtml Emails bearing the subject “Protection Notification” have been seen hitting inboxes in the past period, trying to dupe recipients into handing over their email account usernames and passwords.

Hoax Slayer provides a sample email:

Dear Valued Customer,

Norton Anti-Virus detected an ... (read more)]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 13:35:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Norton-Protection-Authentication-Scam-Targets-Email-Credentials-269953.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Norton-Protection-Authentication-Scam-Targets-Email-Credentials-269953.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Toolkits-Make-Pinterest-Scams-Easy-to-Launch-Experts-Say-269840.shtml A few days ago we reported that Websense specialists found a number of toolkits used by fraudsters to launch scams on Pinterest. Now, McAfee experts have also identified such tools and they reveal that the spammers don’t even need to possess too many skills in order to launch their campaigns.

“These tools are so e... (read more)]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 09:32:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Toolkits-Make-Pinterest-Scams-Easy-to-Launch-Experts-Say-269840.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Toolkits-Make-Pinterest-Scams-Easy-to-Launch-Experts-Say-269840.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-Ads-Appear-Only-If-Your-Computer-Is-Infected-With-Malware-269730.shtml Wikipedia representatives warn users that if they see advertisements on the site, their computers are most likely infected with a piece of malware.

“We never run ads on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is funded by more than a million donors, who give an average donation of less than 30 dollars,” Philippe Beaudette... (read more)]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 15:01:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-Ads-Appear-Only-If-Your-Computer-Is-Infected-With-Malware-269730.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-Ads-Appear-Only-If-Your-Computer-Is-Infected-With-Malware-269730.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-PayPal-Needs-Your-Help-to-Resolve-an-Issue-With-the-Account-269626.shtml “We need your help resolving an issue with your account!” reads the subject of the latest phishing email users should be aware of.

The spam emails try to convince recipients that their assistance is required in order to address an urgent issue that limits their accounts, Hoax Slayer reports.

read more)]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-PayPal-Needs-Your-Help-to-Resolve-an-Issue-With-the-Account-269626.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-PayPal-Needs-Your-Help-to-Resolve-an-Issue-With-the-Account-269626.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Earn-Money-Apps-Hide-Fraud-Trojan-269618.shtml Internet users are well aware of the fact that there are many scams which advertise methods and products that supposedly can help an individual earn easy money. Now, cybercriminals are starting to focus their attention on schemes that rely on apps.

Experts from Bitdefender have come across a piece of software called “How to Earn Money&... (read more)]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 11:40:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Earn-Money-Apps-Hide-Fraud-Trojan-269618.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Earn-Money-Apps-Hide-Fraud-Trojan-269618.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-to-Hotmail-Users-Your-Account-Has-Been-Blocked-269327.shtml Hotmail customers are advised to be on the lookout for emails entitled “E-mail account alert!” which notify them that their accounts have been blocked. These messages hide a link which points to a malicious website that urges the potential victim to provide his login credentials.

Here’s part of the shady noti... (read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 09:53:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-to-Hotmail-Users-Your-Account-Has-Been-Blocked-269327.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-to-Hotmail-Users-Your-Account-Has-Been-Blocked-269327.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Diablo-3-Free-Download-Scams-Fill-the-Pockets-of-Cybercriminals-269202.shtml Cybercriminals are online fraudsters are well aware of the fact that many users will want to download Diablo III, the latest version of the famous RPG game. That is why they are trying to lure unsuspecting gamers to their malicious sites with “Diablo 3 free download” offers.

In fact, as Trend Micro securit... (read more)]]> Sat, 12 May 2012 10:58:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Diablo-3-Free-Download-Scams-Fill-the-Pockets-of-Cybercriminals-269202.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Diablo-3-Free-Download-Scams-Fill-the-Pockets-of-Cybercriminals-269202.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Make-Your-Mother-Happy-by-Buying-Her-a-Rolex-Spam-268954.shtml As Mother’s Day approaches for millions of people worldwide, spammers focus their attention on users who want to celebrate this special day by offering gifts.

Many people want to express their love for their mothers by purchasing watches, gift cards, flowers, and even antiques. Fraudsters are well aware of this, so they’... (read more)]]> Fri, 11 May 2012 09:11:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Make-Your-Mother-Happy-by-Buying-Her-a-Rolex-Spam-268954.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Make-Your-Mother-Happy-by-Buying-Her-a-Rolex-Spam-268954.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Offer-Free-Oakley-Sunglasses-on-Facebook-268784.shtml A few weeks ago we saw how fraudsters were promising to give out Ray-Ban sunglasses to anyone willing to complete an easy survey. Today, the trick seems to be the same, but the brand has been changed to Oakley.

Hoax Slayer has provided a couple of example posts.

“To Celebrate the Summer, We are Giving Away Free ... (read more)]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 12:31:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Offer-Free-Oakley-Sunglasses-on-Facebook-268784.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Offer-Free-Oakley-Sunglasses-on-Facebook-268784.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Carla-Bruni-Twitter-Account-Lady-Margareth-Thatcher-Dead-268654.shtml A Twitter account allegedly owned by Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of the former president of France, caused a lot of buzz yesterday when it announced the death of Margaret Thatcher.

“S.E.l'Ambassadeur du Royaume-Uni nous annonce en ce moment la mort de Lady Margareth Thatcher,” wrote the prankster.
read more)]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 06:52:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Carla-Bruni-Twitter-Account-Lady-Margareth-Thatcher-Dead-268654.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Carla-Bruni-Twitter-Account-Lady-Margareth-Thatcher-Dead-268654.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Spammers-Promise-to-Clean-Their-Act-After-Being-Sued-268465.shtml The Washington State Office of the Attorney General has revealed that the Californian marketing company, Adscend Media LLC, sued by Facebook because of the clickjacking and spamming techniques they utilized to promote products, promises to stop its wrongdoings.

“Today’s settlement puts a stop to Adscend&rsq... (read more)]]> Wed, 9 May 2012 09:17:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Spammers-Promise-to-Clean-Their-Act-After-Being-Sued-268465.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Spammers-Promise-to-Clean-Their-Act-After-Being-Sued-268465.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Contest-SMS-Messages-Carry-Shady-Link-268322.shtml Fake contests that purport to be sponsored by a reputable company are not new, but now, cybercriminals that launch such campaigns have turned their attention to mobile phone owners. In one instance, to ensure the success of the operation, they use the name and reputation of Apple.

“Congratulations, Your entry into our contest last m... (read more)]]> Tue, 8 May 2012 13:30:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Contest-SMS-Messages-Carry-Shady-Link-268322.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Contest-SMS-Messages-Carry-Shady-Link-268322.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/OpenID-Style-Websites-Trick-Users-into-Handing-Over-Credentials-268139.shtml Barracuda Labs experts have come across spam emails that lure users to a malicious site that tries to replicate a service similar to OpenID, hoping to gain the trust of potential victims.

OpenID is considered to be a practical solution by many website owners because it saves them the hassle of creating their own user a... (read more)]]> Mon, 7 May 2012 15:07:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/OpenID-Style-Websites-Trick-Users-into-Handing-Over-Credentials-268139.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/OpenID-Style-Websites-Trick-Users-into-Handing-Over-Credentials-268139.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/1-000-760-Walmart-Gift-Card-Scam-Inflates-Phone-Bills-267717.shtml Shady Walmart gift card offers are not new, but every once in a while we come across another variation that tries to dupe unsuspecting internauts into participating in a survey. As always, the participants don’t get the much promised gift cards, but the fraudsters earn important sums of money from each campaign.

Circulatin... (read more)]]> Fri, 4 May 2012 09:37:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/1-000-760-Walmart-Gift-Card-Scam-Inflates-Phone-Bills-267717.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/1-000-760-Walmart-Gift-Card-Scam-Inflates-Phone-Bills-267717.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Lure-Victims-with-Storage-Upgrade-Offers-267557.shtml Email services providers offer a lot of storage space for their customers, but some individuals might still be displeased. Cybercriminals are relying on this in their latest campaign in which they offer highly-tempting storage plans for free.

Experts from Symantec have come across such schemes in which the fraudsters promise extra s... (read more)]]> Thu, 3 May 2012 11:21:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Lure-Victims-with-Storage-Upgrade-Offers-267557.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishers-Lure-Victims-with-Storage-Upgrade-Offers-267557.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Mark-Zuckerberg-Facebook-Lottery-Scam-Hitting-Inboxes-267417.shtml Facebook lotteries are not new and neither are scam emails that purport to come from the company’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, but now cybercriminals have combined the two in an attempt to dupe users into believing that they’ve won $1 million (760,000 EUR) as part of a sweepstakes.

TotalDefense informs that in this... (read more)]]> Wed, 2 May 2012 13:31:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Mark-Zuckerberg-Facebook-Lottery-Scam-Hitting-Inboxes-267417.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Mark-Zuckerberg-Facebook-Lottery-Scam-Hitting-Inboxes-267417.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-Emails-Lure-Santander-Customers-with-Software-Update-Notice-266995.shtml An email allegedly coming from Santander Bank urges customers to upgrade their software. However, this is nothing more than a clever phishing scam that’s designed to steal online banking details.

The malicious email, provided by Hoax Slayer, reads:

Dear Valued Customer,

Santander On... (read more)]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:41:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-Emails-Lure-Santander-Customers-with-Software-Update-Notice-266995.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Phishing-Emails-Lure-Santander-Customers-with-Software-Update-Notice-266995.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Security-Update-KB971033-Emails-Point-to-Malicious-Sites-266765.shtml 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 ... (read more)]]> Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:55:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Security-Update-KB971033-Emails-Point-to-Malicious-Sites-266765.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-Security-Update-KB971033-Emails-Point-to-Malicious-Sites-266765.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Lure-Users-to-Survey-Sites-with-Ray-Ban-Sunglasses-266751.shtml Ray-Ban sunglasses are promised by cybercrooks in return for a few clicks as part of a campaign that’s making the rounds on Facebook.

Some time has passed since we saw a classic survey scam, but fear not, as soon as they came up with a plan, fraudsters launched a Facebook campaign designed to lure users to sites th... (read more)]]> Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:49:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Lure-Users-to-Survey-Sites-with-Ray-Ban-Sunglasses-266751.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fraudsters-Lure-Users-to-Survey-Sites-with-Ray-Ban-Sunglasses-266751.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Scam-2012-Doomsday-Confirmed-NASA-Warns-Be-Prepared-266530.shtml As December (12), 2012, approaches, the numbers of predictions and people who start to panic increase. Cybercriminals use the topic's growth in popularity to launch their malicious operations, designed to, in one way or the other, earn them a profit.

The latest scam that’s making the rounds on Facebook is entitled “201... (read more)]]> Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:16:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Scam-2012-Doomsday-Confirmed-NASA-Warns-Be-Prepared-266530.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Scam-2012-Doomsday-Confirmed-NASA-Warns-Be-Prepared-266530.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-LinkedIn-MySpace-Pinterest-Foresquare-Notifications-Serve-Fraud-Sites-266359.shtml Cybercrooks are persistent when it comes to duping Internet users into visiting their malicious sites. The last campaigns rely on fake notifications that seem to originate from LinkedIn, MySpace, Pinterest, or Foresquare.

The main goal of these schemes is to lure users to fraud sites or shady online pharmaci... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-LinkedIn-MySpace-Pinterest-Foresquare-Notifications-Serve-Fraud-Sites-266359.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-LinkedIn-MySpace-Pinterest-Foresquare-Notifications-Serve-Fraud-Sites-266359.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Sweepstakes-419-Scam-Promises-100-000-76-000-266335.shtml A fake Facebook lottery is making the rounds, promising recipients a prize of $100,000 (€76,000). In reality, those who respond to the email message that carries the scam will be asked to pay certain amounts of money that are allegedly needed to complete the transaction.

Apparently signed by “The Facebook Team,”... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:08:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Sweepstakes-419-Scam-Promises-100-000-76-000-266335.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/Facebook-Sweepstakes-419-Scam-Promises-100-000-76-000-266335.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/British-and-Australian-Users-Targeted-with-My-Apple-ID-Phishing-Scam-266124.shtml Apple customers from the United Kingdom and Australia are being targeted with a cleverly designed phishing scheme that tries to dupe them into handing over sensitive information as part of an Apple Discount Card purchase process.

The scam is not new. We’ve seen it at the beginning of April but, at the time, ... (read more)]]> Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/British-and-Australian-Users-Targeted-with-My-Apple-ID-Phishing-Scam-266124.shtml Spam Reports http://news.softpedia.com/news/British-and-Australian-Users-Targeted-with-My-Apple-ID-Phishing-Scam-266124.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs)