December 26, 2012
After installation, Android.DDoS.1.origin creates an application icon, similar to that of Google Play. If the user decides to use the fake icon to access Google Play, the original application will be launched, which significantly reduces the risk of any suspicion.
While many people choose to spread good cheer during the holiday season, online gift shoppers can also count on cybercriminals spreading malware. They hope to prey on the stresses of last-minute holiday shopping and seek to distract consumers from being cautious with their personal information online. Bogus notices masquerading as email alerts from legitimate brands are one of the top malware distribution vectors making the rounds this holiday season, a new report shows.
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3560-fake-delivery-notifications-harbor-malware.html
Fraudulent emails adopt many different forms and are the unauthorized actions of third parties not associated with UPS. These email messages referred to as "phishing" or "spoofing" are becoming more common and may appear legitimate by incorporating company brands, colors, or other legal disclaimers.
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/news/service_updates/20110330_fraud.html
Whenever cybercriminals create a malware spam campaign, they often write messages that they know will tap into the emotional side of the recipient.
By doing this, they can yield the best click-through rates for any embedded links pointing to malicious websites and highest number of possible downloads for file attachments laced with malware.
And what better way is there to evoke emotion than to discuss the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election?
Therefore, consider this your fair warning to be on the lookout for fraudulent emails purporting to be from well-known news media outlets featuring eye-catching electional headlines like the one below. It could be a trap to infect your PC with malware.
A new hacker attack was reportedly discovered that exploits a weakness in Microsoft’s popular Internet Explorer web browser. Users are advised to stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) immediately until a security update is released by Microsoft to address the problem. The new attack affects Internet Explorer versions 7, 8, and 9 running on Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
The FBi is warning computer users about this new drive-by variant on the Reveton internet scam: Email linking to a "ransomware" website that freezes computers and demands payment to unlock them.
It can steal “access credentials for various online banking systems and payment methods” and “various kinds of data from infected Windows machines” such as “specifics of network interfaces, computer’s drives and even information about BIOS.” It can steal browser history, social network and instant messaging info and passwords, and searches for and intercepts cookies from PayPal, Citibank, MasterCard, American Express, Visa, eBay, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Amazon and some other Middle Eastern banks. Additionally Gauss “includes an unknown, encrypted payload which is activated on certain specific system configurations.”
Summary: Cybercriminals are pushing fake Groupon discount e-mails in the hopes you’ll think they are coming from a friend. The attached file is not what it claims to be. It’s malware.
http://www.zdnet.com/warning-fake-groupon-e-mails-include-malware-7000002045/
Summary: Cybercriminals are pushing fake AT&T e-mails in the hopes you’ll think you forgot to pay your bill. This is a scam: the links inside do not point to AT&T but a website that tries to put malware on your computer.
http://www.zdnet.com/malware-warning-your-at-and-t-bill-is-ready-to-be-viewed-7000002121/
Summary: Cybercriminals are using false news about the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team at the 2012 Olympics to push malware. Despite the claims, Gabrielle Douglas, who won a Gold Medal in Women’s Gymnastics All Around, did not test positive for doping.
Scammers are pushing out malware by leveraging the hype around the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the potential for doping disgraces. Usually with the subject "Huge scandal with the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team on the 2012 London Olympics" this spam e-mail claims Gabrielle Douglas, who won a Gold Medal in Women’s Gymnastics All Around, faces a lifetime ban from the sport. This is not true, and the goal here is to infect your computer with malware.
http://www.zdnet.com/trojan-warning-huge-scandal-with-the-usa-womens-gymnastics-team-7000002135/
