Email Scam Uses Hurricane Katrina As Bait

[Guest guest]

>

> Email Scam Uses Hurricane Katrina As Bait

>

>

> ---------------------------------

>

>

>

> if

> (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE')!=-1)

> document.write('

> ---------------------------------

> '); else document.write('

> '); <HRsize=2 width= " 100% "

> noshade color= " #cb9900 " align=center>

>

>

>

> Dow Real-Time News for InvestorsSM

> 3:13 p.m. 09/01/2005

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> By Riva Richmond

>

> Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

>

>

>

> NEW YORK (Dow )--Cyberthieves joined looters

> Thursday in the rush for illicit profit from

> Hurricane Katrina.

>

> An email scam is circulating on the Internet

> inviting recipients to visit a malicious Web site

> for news of the storm's aftermath. The site displays

> a news story and secretly tries to download hacker

> programs onto victim PCs that could be part of an

> identity-theft scheme.

>

> The site is laced with a program that attempts to

> exploit flaws in Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Internet

> Explorer browser revealed earlier this year to

> install a variety of malicious programs, including a

> Trojan horse called " Cgab " that provides full access

> to victim PCs. Hackers typically use such power to

> steal private information, such as financial account

> numbers, and to send spam anonymously.

>

> " The hurricane is a dreadful natural disaster, and

> it's sickening to think that hackers are prepared to

> exploit the horrendous situation in an attempt to

> break into computers for the purposes of spamming,

> extortion and theft, " said Graham Cluley, senior

> technology consultant for antivirus-software maker

> Sophos Ltd., in an emailed statement.

>

> The body of the emails can vary, but all relate to

> the disaster caused by the hurricane in New Orleans

> and elsewhere in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Web

> site shows a purported UPI wire service story

> headlined " Katrina killed as many as 80 people. " The

> emails' subject lines include: " Re: g8 Tropical

> storm flooded New Orleans " and " Re: g7 80 percent of

> our city underwater. " Ironically, the offending Web

> page also includes a teaser for an article about the

> recent Zotob email virus.

>

> High-profile disasters and news events are now

> almost inevitably followed by Internet scams.

> Indeed, the Katrina spam attack is nearly identical

> to an Iraqi news email scam that began circulating

> in early August, security company Websense Inc.

> (WBSN) said. The company has also tracked several

> hundred new Web sites requesting donations for

> Hurricane Katrina relief, many of which it believes

> are fraudulent.

>

> -By Riva Richmond, Dow Newswires;

> 201-938-5670; riva.richmond@...

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>