Contributor: Avdhoot Patil
Digital currency, a form of electronic money, is a relatively new concept to the world. Many of these currencies have arisen during the past decade and digital currency in general has always been a subject of controversy. In …
Hospitality is the friendly bonding between the guest and host, especially efforts to make the guest feel comfortable. Spammers exploit hospitality events, and the bond between guest and host, with fake promotional offers. We are currently observing an increase in spam messages which exploit hospitality offered by major events, festivals, and concerts. The spam messages invite users to watch the events at entertaining venues happening in different places. Hospitality spam tries to entice users with bogus offers such as the following:
Luxury items
Fine dining
Champagne
VIP parking
VIP hostess service
Gambling
Q&A with sports celebrities
Large plasma screens
Figure 1. British Grand Prix hospitality spam
Figure 2. Ashes Series hospitality spam
A variety of subject lines have been observed in the hospitality spam attacks, such as the following:
Subject: VIP HOY Show hospitality
Subject: Unique opportunity to present a trophy at top event
Subject: Ringside dining action at HOY 2013
Subject: Exclusive Equine ringside action
Subject: Champagne journey to bitter grudge match
Subject: Looking for an evening of champion sport?
Subject: A unique moment to talk with the legendary Murray
Subject: 2013 Festival of Speed
Subject: Exclusive Race Day Hospitality with Murray Walker
Subject: A unique moment to talk with the legendary Murray
The “From” address associated with these hospitality spam emails include the following:
From: F1 Deals <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: Grand Prix <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: The Festival of Motoring <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: German battle <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: Horse Show <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: Top Horse Events <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: How’s that? <mail@[REMOVED]>
From: 2013 Race F1 <mail@[REMOVED]>
The main motive of these spam campaigns is to lure recipients by providing fake promotional offers and asking users to reply with questions about the event to the spam domain which is only registered for a year and hosted in the United Kingdom.
Symantec advises our readers to use caution when receiving unsolicited or unexpected emails. We are closely monitoring these spam attacks to ensure that users are kept up to date with information on the latest threats.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2013 is currently being held in England and Wales. The group matches are already in progress and the grand finale will be held on June 23. In the past, Symantec observed various spam emails targe…
この図にあるように、フィッシングページは、レアル・マドリードを強調したデザインのページコンテンツで、ユーザーに Facebook のログイン情報を入力するよう求めます。このページのタイトルは「Facebook Real Madrid Login」で、背景には同クラブのクリスティアーノ・ロナウド選手の画像が使われています。ユーザーがログイン情報を入力すると、このフィッシングサイトからレアル・マドリードの正規の Facebook コミュニティページにリダイレクトされます。正規のページにリダイレクトするのは、正当なログインだと思わせるためです。このフィッシングサイト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、なりすまし犯罪の被害者になってしまいます。
ユーザーの関心を引こうとして、スパムメールでは、このイベントで人気を呼びそうな内容を紹介したうえで、参加費用は「格安」で追加料金もいっさい不要と謳っています。URL をクリックすると、偽広告が掲載された Web サイトにリダイレクトされます。
図 2. 海賊版の Web サイト。正規サイトと似ているが、連絡先情報(緑の線で囲まれた部分)が異なる
図 3. オリジナルの正規のイベント Web サイト
注目に値するのは、偽の Web サイトに信憑性を持たせるために、オンラインの訪問者を観測するウィジェットをページの左下に追加し、オンラインユーザー数と称してランダムな数字を表示している点です。このスパム攻撃の主な動機は、ユーザーを誘い出してその個人情報や口座情報を手に入れることにあります。十分に注意を払い、リンクはクリックしないようにしてください。
このスパム攻撃で確認されている件名の例を以下に挙げます。
件名: DanceGrandPrixEurope from the 12th to 16th June 2013. Competition for Dance Schools/Groups from all over.(ダンスグランプリヨーロッパ、2013 年 6 月 12 日から 16 日まで開催。世界中のダンススクールやグループが競う)
件名: Grand Prix Spain. Competition for Dance Schools&Groups from the 12th to 16th June 2013.(グランプリはスペインで開催。ダンススクールとグループのための競技会、2013 年 6 月 12 日から 16 日まで)
件名: Greetings from all of us at Dance grand Prix Europe Season 2013! As Holiday Season approaches. GIFT YOURSELF & Your School/Groups a “DanceYear” 2013 to remember! Book our European Dance Competitions now!(ダンスグランプリヨーロッパ、2013 シーズン開幕のお知らせ! ホリデーシーズンを前に、記念すべき「2013 ダンス年」を祝してあなた自身にも、スクールやグループにも贈り物はいかがですか。ヨーロッパダンス競技会の参加予約は、今すぐ!)
Contributor: Avdhoot Patil
It seems that targeting football clubs, football celebrities, and football events has become a habit for phishers. They continue their uncivilized activities and in particular single out football. Now, phishers have set their…
The International Dance Competition “Dance Grand Prix Europe” is set to begin June 12 and will be hosted in Spain. The purpose of the competition is to showcase all the top dancers from various dance schools and this major event attracts choreographic talent from around the world. Spammers also don’t want to miss this event and the opportunity to circulate a scam.
Figure 1. Dance Grand Prix Europe 2013 spam
To grab the reader’s attention, the spam email reveals some appealing facts about the event along with “only a little fee” required but no additional charges for participation in the event. Clicking the URL will automatically redirect the user to a website containing a bogus offer.
Figure 2. Pirated website looks like original, changed contact information (green box)
Figure 3. Original and legitimate event website
Interestingly, to trick users into trusting the fake website, spammers also added a widget at the bottom left of the page that monitors online visitors and displays a random number of users online. The main motive of these spam campaigns is to lure recipients and acquire their personal and financial information. Users should be careful and avoid clicking the links.
Some of the subject lines observed in this spam campaign include the following:
Subject: DanceGrandPrixEurope from the 12th to 16th June 2013. Competition for Dance Schools/Groups from all over.
Subject: Grand Prix Spain. Competition for Dance Schools&Groups from the 12th to 16th June 2013.
Subject: Greetings from all of us at Dance grand Prix Europe Season 2013! As Holiday Season approaches. GIFT YOURSELF & Your School/Groups a “DanceYear” 2013 to remember! Book our European Dance Competitions now!
Symantec advises users to be cautious when handling unsolicited or unexpected emails related to the Dance Grand Prix Europe 2013 and to update antispam signatures regularly. Symantec also monitors spam attacks around-the-clock to ensure users are kept up to date on the latest threats.