In the last few weeks we have observed a drastic increase in “penny stock” spam emails. In 2011 Symantec published a blog entitled Global Debt Crises News Drives Pump-and-Dump Stock Scams, which also dealt with this type of spam.
Penny stocks, also known as cent stocks, are shares in small companies that trade at low prices, often as low as a few cents per share. Penny stocks are a very popular topic used by spammers. The spam emails advertise the cheap shares and state that the company is on the verge of becoming very successful and that the value of the shares will rise significantly. The emails make out that the company is more valuable than it actually is and implies that they have just created some major product or are on the verge of a breakthrough and that the share value is tipped to rise dramatically. The aim is to increase sales of the stock, which in turn raises the value, then the fraudster can sell their penny stocks for significantly more than they paid for them. This stock fraud method is known as “pump and dump.”
We are seeing various spam methods being used in stock spam such as broken words, obfuscation with irrelevant line spaces, and insertion of randomized characters in the header or body of the emails etc.
Figure 1. Penny stock spam emails
Symantec is observing an increase in spam volume related to stock spam, which can be seen in the below graph.
Figure 2:Volume trend of stock spam email
Below are the most frequently observed subject lines in these attacks:
Subject: Stock Picking Contest, Sign Up Today
Subject: “Before The Close” From Standout Stocks!
Subject: A Royal Treat To Start The Week
Subject: Expect More from this Bull
Subject: Explosive Pick Coming
Subject: It Is Our Hot New Trade Alert!
Subject: Its trading levels could be Set to Explode!
Subject: Let`s Do It Again! Tonight We Have Another Breaking Bull!
Subject: This Company Shows Gains
Subject: This Company shows Strength
Subject: What a Fantastic Week! Our Members had the Opportunity to Make Some Serious Gains!
Symantec advises users to be cautious when handling unsolicited or unexpected emails and to update antispam signatures regularly. Symantec is closely monitoring these “pump and dump” spam attacks and will continue monitoring this trend to keep our readers updated.
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Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries on May 12 and it’s a day for children, regardless of age, to express their love to their mother by giving her a gift. Spam messages related to Mother’s Day have begun flowing into the Symantec Probe Network. Clicking the URL contained in the spam message automatically redirects the recipient to a website containing a bogus Mother’s Day offer upon completion of a fake survey.
Figure 1: Survey spam targeting Mother’s Day
Once the survey is completed, a page is then displayed asking the user to enter their personal information in order to receive the bogus offer.
Figure 2: Fake survey
Figure 3: Bogus Web page asking for personal information
We recently blogged about the persistence of spam with .pw URLs and not surprisingly a lot of the Mother’s Day spam messages contain .pw top-level domain (TLD) URLs. The following are some examples of the From header using .pw URLs that we have identified to date:
From: Mother’s Day Gifts <Check@[REMOVED].pw>
From: “Early Bird Mother’s Day Flowers” <postmaster@[REMOVED].pw>
From: “Early Bird Mother’s Day Bouquets” <noreply@[REMOVED].pw>
From: “Mother’s Day Bouquets” <MothersDayBouquets@[REMOVED].pw>
From: “Mom” <Mom@[REMOVED].pw>
Figure4:Another dodgy website related to Mother’s Day
Symantec is observing an increase in spam volume related to Mother’s Day, which can be seen in the following graph.
Figure5:Volume of Mother’s Day spam
The following are some of the Subject lines observed for these spam attacks:
Subject: Don’t Forget Mother’s Day – $19.99 Chocolate, Dipped Strawberries
Subject: Stunning Personalized Gifts for Mother’s Day
Subject: Top Personalized Mother’s Day Gifts
Subject: Make Mother’s Day Special With A Personalized Gift
Subject: Mother’s Day Car Deal (Half Off Every Make And Model)
Subject: Regarding Mothers Day
Subject: Celebrate Mom with a $19.99 bouquet.
Subject: Mother’s Day Replica’s Women’s Accessories
Subject: Mother’s Day Secret Formula.
Symantec advises our readers to use caution when receiving unsolicited or unexpected emails. We are closely monitoring Mother’s Day spam attacks to ensure that readers are kept up to date with information on the latest threats.
Last week, Symantec posted a blog on an increase in spam messages with .pw URLs. Since then, spam messages with .pw URLs have begun showing up even more.
Figure 1. .pw TLD spam message increase
Symantec conducted some analysis into where these attacks are coming from in terms of IP spaces. As expected, Symantec observed a large quantity of mail being sent from an IP range and then moving to another IP range. While this is an expected behavior, there was an interesting twist. There were multiple companies (with different names) hosting .pw spammers using the same physical address in Nevada.
Examining messages found in the Global Intelligence Network, Symantec researchers have found that the vast majority of spam messages containing .pw URLs are hit-and-run (also known as snowshoe) spam. The top 25 subject lines from .pw URL spam from May 1, 2013 were:
Subject: For all the moms in your life on Mother’s Day.
Subject: Tax Relief Notification
Subject: Remove IRS Tax Penalties
Subject: Save on the most beautiful bouquets for Mom
Subject: Reusable K Cup for Keurig or single-brew coffee maker
Subject: Garden Today says, “By far the easiest hose to use”
Subject: HOME: Amazingly Strong water hose you can fit anywhere.
Subject: The LAST water hose you’ll ever need
Subject: No Hassle Pricing on Ford Vehicles
Subject: Own a NEW Ford for the Summer
Subject: May 1st Ford Clearance Event
Subject: Lasik- Safe, Easy, and Affordable
Subject: Safe, Easy, and Affordable Lasik
Subject: We work with the Biggest and Best Brands in Fashion
Subject: Whos the hottest? Post . Vote . Win
Subject: Are You and Your Business seen at a global scale?
Subject: Power your entire House, Pool and more with Solar Energy
Subject: Most EFFECTIVE way to treat Hypertension
Subject: Solar power slashes your electric bill in half
Subject: Global Business Registry for Networking Professionals
Subject: Finally, an EFFECTIVE fat shredding solution
Subject: Register with other professionals
Subject: Easiest Way To Lower Blood Pressure
Subject: Secret To Lowering Blood Pressure Naturally
Subject: Refinance Today, Save Tomorrow
In addition to creating anti-spam filters as needed, Symantec has been in contact with Directi and working with the registrar to report and take down the .pw domains associated with spam. Symantec believes that collaborating with the registrar is a more progressive and holistic approach to solving this problem.
For that past several days, Symantec has observed an increase in spam messages containing hexadecimal obfuscated URLs. Hexadecimal character codes are simply the hexadecimal number to letter representation for the ASCII character set. To a computer, he…
フィッシング詐欺の世界では最近も変わらず、サッカーが大人気のようです。2012 年にも、サッカーを利用したさまざまなフィッシング攻撃が確認されましたが、フィッシング詐欺師は早くも 2014 年の FIFA ワールドカップに熱い視線を注ぎ、有名選手やサッカークラブを狙っています。リオネル・メッシ選手のファンを狙った詐欺や、FC バルセロナを利用した詐欺は、そういったフィッシングの一例です。たくさんのファンが付いている有名選手を利用すれば、標的も膨大な数にのぼり、結果的に個人情報を収集できるチャンスも大きくなることを詐欺師は知っています。2013 年 4 月にもこの傾向は続き、同じようなフィッシング詐欺の手口が横行しています。今回のフィッシングサイトは、フランスにある無料の Web ホスティングサイトを利用していました。
このフィッシングサイトでは Facebook のログイン情報を入力するよう要求します。ページにはリオネル・メッシ選手、FC バルセロナ、あるいはクリスティアーノ・ロナウド選手が目立つようにデザインされています。フィッシングページには彼らの画像が掲載され、いずれかの正規の Facebook ページであるかのような印象を与えます。なかには、「first social networking site in the world（世界で最初のソーシャルネットワークサイト）」というタイトルの偽サイトまでありました。ユーザーは、Facebook ページにアクセスするために Facebook のログイン情報を入力するよう求められます。ログイン情報を入力すると、ログインが有効であると思い込ませるようにリオネル・メッシ選手、FC バルセロナ、またはクリスティアーノ・ロナウド選手の正規のコミュニティページにリダイレクトされます。この手口に乗ってログイン情報を入力したユーザーは、個人情報を盗まれ、なりすまし犯罪に使われてしまいます。
Phishers have recently gained a lot of interest in football. Various phishing attacks using football were observed in 2012. Phishers have already shown their interest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, football celebrities, and football clubs. Scam for LIONEL MESSI Fans and Scam for FC Barcelona are good examples of phishers using football celebrities and football clubs. Fraudsters understand that choosing celebrities with a huge fan base offers the largest amount of targets which could increase their chances of harvesting user credentials. In April 2013, the trend continued with phishers using the same strategy. The phishing sites were in French on a free web hosting site.
The phishing sites prompted users to enter their Facebook login credentials on pages designed to highlight Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, or Cristiano Ronaldo. The phishing pages contained images of Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, or Cristiano Ronaldo and tried to create the false impression that they were the official Facebook page for either Messi, FC Barcelona, or Ronaldo. Some of the fake sites were titled, “first social networking site in the world”. Users were prompted to enter their Facebook login credentials in order to connect to the Facebook page. After a user’s login credentials have been entered, users are redirected to a legitimate Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, or Cristiano Ronaldo community page to create the illusion of a valid login. If users fell victim to the phishing site by entering their login credentials, phishers would have successfully stolen their information for identity theft purposes.
Figure 2. Fake Facebook phishing page featuring FC Barcelona
Figure 3. Fake Facebook phishing page featuring Cristiano Ronaldo
Internet users are advised to follow best practices to avoid phishing attacks:
Do not click on suspicious links in email messages
Do not provide any personal information when answering an email
Do not enter personal information in a pop-up page or screen
Ensure the website is encrypted with an SSL certificate by looking for the padlock, “https”, or the green address bar when entering personal or financial information
Use comprehensive security software such as Norton Internet Security or Norton 360, which protects you from phishing scams and social network scams
Exercise caution when clicking on enticing links sent through email or posted on social networks
Report fake websites and email (for Facebook, send phishing complaints to phish@fb.com)
Symantec has observed an increase in spam messages containing .pw top-level domain (TLD) URLs. While it was originally a country code top-level domain for Palau, it is now available to the general public through Directi, who branded it as “Professional Web”.
Figure 1. .pw TLD URL spam message increase
Looking back at the last 90 days, .pw ranked #16 on our TLD distribution list:
Figure 2. TLD distribution list – last 90 days
However, the .pw URL jumps to the fourth spot when looking at the last 7 days:
Figure 3. TLD distribution list – last 7 days
Examining messages found in the Global Intelligence Network, Symantec researchers have found that the vast majority of spam messages containing .pw URLs are hit-and-run (also known as snowshoe) spam.
These are the top ten subject lines from .pw URL spam over the last two days:
Subject: How to sell your Timeshare
Subject: Reusable K Cup for Keurig or single-brew coffee maker
Subject: Reusable single-brew coffee cup you can fill with your coffee blend.
Subject: Are your home possessions covered in case of a catastrophe?
Subject: Elmo’s Learning Adventure Gift Package
Subject: Make Learning Fun – With Elmo & the Sesame Street Gang!
Subject: Are your appliances and home systems covered?
Subject: Refinance Today, Save Tomorrow
Subject: Nothing is more EFFECTIVE for High Blood Pressure
Subject: Mortgage Rates
Figure 4. .pw URL spam message example
Symantec will continue to monitor this trend and create additional filters to target these attacks. In addition, Symantec also advises enterprises and consumers to adopt the best practices found in the Symantec Intelligence Report.
