Symantec has observed that Valentine's Day spam messages offer unbelievable discounts on jewellery, dinning opportunities, and expensive gifts to shoppers with an increase in phishing attacks to steal personal information as online transactions increase.
The e-card spam message arrives with a malicious attachment called ValentineCard4you.zip.Malware gets downloaded on to the user's computer after the user opens the spam with an attachment. Symantec detects the attachment as Backdoor, Trojan whose primary functionality is to enable a remote attacker to have access to or send commands to a compromised computer.
Recently, new attacks have been observed in which the phishing website states that taxes can be paid online. As the fiscal year in India draws to an end, more people are rushing to pay taxes before the deadline. The phishing website has mimicked the legitimate one in order to steal customers’ sensitive information.
Abhijit Limaye, Director, Development, Security Response, Symantec said, “The sheer volume of public involvement in topical events makes them rewarding opportunities for cyber criminals. Spammers find new ways to get unsuspecting users to download malicious content, buy fake products, open attachments and fall for event driven scams. We advise users to be cautious when handling unsolicited discount offers or suspicious emails or URLs that seek personal information.”
