Posted by Virus Bulletin on Aug 31, 2006
Decent spelling and convincing design aim to trick users.
Users of eBay, perennial subject of phishing scams, are currently being targeted by a more than usually well-crafted attack. An email, purporting to come from the web auction house, is neat in its layout and accurate in its spelling, enough to give even a jaded spam-spotter a moment's pause. The mail even includes warnings about phishing scams and fake emails, but also contains username and password boxes, used to reap victims' credentials.
'eBay users are generally at least slightly protected from the torrent of spam aimed at the company by the sloppy spelling and unconvincing layout of many spam campaigns,' said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. 'Presentation has lagged behind technical improvements in phishing techniques for some time, and readers are becoming inured to offers of 'huge earrings' coming from a 'diar friend'. It's a little worrying that spammers are finally catching on to the fact that legitimate companies tend to hire literate copywriters and professional designers.'
Read more about the scam here.
Posted on 31 August 2006 by Virus Bulletin
