Via spam emails

Apr 29, 2008 13:34 GMT  ·  By

Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most expected PS3 and Xbox 360 games ever launched, makes a lot of victims among addicted gamers, and not only due to the fact that the stores' stocks got depleted soon after the game became available. According to ClearMyMail, wise spammers around the world attempt to speculate this moment and try to lure GTA IV desperate fans in all kinds of scams and attacks which may compromise their computers with spyware and Trojan horses. Most email messages sent today were actually spams, ClearMyMail explains, the majority of them claiming they are offering PS3s and GTA IVs as prizes for special contests.

The users were asked to download files and install them on their computers but, instead of games and consoles, they actually won infected files trying to steal financial information and other private details stored on the computers.

"We are seeing unprecedented levels of spam in relation to the game; with more than half of the spam our service is blocking relating to Grand Theft Auto, most of which contain viruses and spyware," Dan Field, Managing Director of ClearMyMail commented. "Spammers are like con-men - they are the ultimate opportunists and like nothing more than to prey on the susceptible. My advice to anybody who receives these emails is to refrain from opening it, and to wait until they can legitimately purchase the game, even if disappointed by the record sales of this morning."

There's no special advice to give you in this matter, just the common one: keep your antivirus solutions and firewalls up-to-date with the newest virus definitions and ignore the suspicious messages arriving in your inbox. And don't forget, it one thing sounds too good to be true, it's probably a fake.