Fake CNN and BBC spam messages use current events like “New Pope sued over sex abuse” to lure users to exploit sites.
AVG Web Threats researchers have found spam from scammers using the Blackhole exploit kit that use the issue of sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church as bait.
The spam, which impersonates CNN.com emails, claims a new story has been posted “New Pope, Vatican officials sued over alleged sexual abuse!”
The exclamation point in an alleged email from a legitimate news web site is the first giveaway that this was phony.
Clicking on the link in the email takes the victim to an exploit kit. The Java download icon suggests that Java is being used to exploit the users PC.
The Web Threats researchers found a number of URLs used by the scammers, all ending with “/popesued.html”.
The researchers discovered another message that the same malicious individual or group is using in their spam campaign. It reports another user saw an BBC News report on the Cyprus debt deposit tax and thought you should see it.
Keep your eye out for fake emails and links from social media sites. Here are some tips on what to look out for, so you can be safe before you click.
– AVG Web Threats Research group
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