Yes, of course! This is what the email is all about! Or, is it?
The 2011 Wimbledon Championship has begun in full gusto and like any other major sporting event, we have been observing spam flowing in the wild that targets Wimbledon 2011. Spammers are exploiting the event by sending online betting, casino, and even online pharmacy spam through email.
The Italian spam sample given below mimics a legitimate betting website (the name of the betting site is deliberately omitted). The email headers are spoofed in an effort to bolster the legitimacy of the email; but the Sender domain has been registered only recently and shows hit-and-run spam characteristics. The spammer says, “Bet risk free! Even if you lose the bet, 20 Euros will be reimbursed.”
The spam sample given below explains the steps that users would supposedly need to take to acquire the “bonus”:
1. Sign up and make a deposit into your account.
2. Place your first bet.
3. If your first bet is not successful, you will be reimbursed up to 20 Euros.
One of the spoofed headers is shown below:
From: xxxx<[email protected]>
Subject: Torna il grande tennis, con [removed] hai venti euro offerti per scommettere su chi vuoi
Translation:
Subject: The return of the great tennis tournament, come and bet on [removed] – 20 euro bets on the bets you want
Another spam sample promotes an online pharmacy. The subject line for this attack is “British women win at Wimbledon.” This is likely an effort to draw users’ attention to news related to Wimbledon.
Users have to be very careful when they perform online financial transactions. The legitimacy of any email message needs to be checked before any link is clicked. One thing is for sure, and that is no bet can make you rich, especially if it has come from unsolicited sources.
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Note: Thanks to Anand Muralidharan for contributed content.
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