Spammers have been quick off the mark to exploit the death of pop legend Michael Jackson, with an email harvesting campaign being picked up hours after the shock announcement.
Security firm Sophos said it witnessed the first wave of spam messages just eight hours after Jackson’s death was announced.
The emails do not contain a ‘call-to-action’ link, such as a url, email, or phone number. Instead the email attempts to ‘harvest’ a users email address via a free live email address if computer users reply to the spam message, SophosLabs said. Once the spammers know an email address is active it will be targeted for more spam attacks in the future.
The untimely death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has sent shockwaves through the entire world – but unfortunately, this type of huge news story is also the perfect vehicle for spammers to snare vulnerable computer users, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. These spammers are relying on curious users to reply to their bogus claims – but if you receive one of these messages you just need to delete it.
Cluley added that the death of Charlie’s Angles icon Farrah Fawcett, who died on the same day as Jackson, also prompted plenty of spam emails aiming to spread fake anti-virus software.
“The fact is that cybercriminals have no respect for taste and decency. The only thing they are interested in is making some money for themselves, and turning other computer users’ lives into a misery,” Cluley said.
Sophos expects more Jackson-related spam over the next few days and weeks as cybercriminals looks to exploit Jackson’s death.
