Michael Jackson spam email proliferates, spreads viruses

Surging popular interest in the wake of Michael Jackson's death last week has set off a bonanza of related spam email, some of which contains malicious links, viruses and scams designed to ensnare curious recipients.

Web security firm Symantec said in a blog post Wednesday that spammers have largely abandoned Fourth of July-themed spam that typically picks up around the holiday weekend, likely because Jackson's death continues to drive web traffic like nothing else.

"Surprisingly, it looks as if spammers are less passionate about spawning Independence Day spam this year. The probable reason for this neutrality could be the spam spike related to the death of pop star Michael Jackson," Symantec researcher Samir Patil said in the post.

Malware disguised as YouTube videos and other files purporting to contain missing Jackson songs and photos have been reported.

Scams have also proliferated, including one claiming to come from a concert ticket office based in London that requests the recipient's information for ticket reimbursement, information that could be used for identity theft and fraud, Symantec reported.

IT security firm Sophos also spotted malware in Jackson-related email, including one from a phony Italian YouTube site that asks users to download an update to their Flash player that executes the Trojan malware ZBot.

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News 1 year ago