14 DAY TRIAL // Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves has died. Judging by past events, cybercriminals will likely leverage his death in all sorts of malicious schemes.
It has happened when Steve Jobs, Muammar Gaddafi, and Osama Bin Laden died, and it’s likely that we’ll see some scams on this occasion as well.
Internet users are advised to beware of social media posts that promise videos of his death, emails from his wife or other relatives promising a large wealth in exchange for some information, and messages that carry attachments allegedly representing videos or other content.
The death of Hugo Chavez, although at the time he didn't really die, was used in a malware-spreading campaign back in December 2011. At the time, cybercriminals started sending out malicious emails, according to which, official sources from the Venezuelan government confirmed the president’s death.
The emails carried a variant of the Dorkbot malware.
I’ll keep you updated if any of these scams emerges. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Hugo Chavez’s death, be sure to get your information only from trusted websites.