eBay phishing ups its game
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.
31 August 2006
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