Michael Jackson’s death unleashes a malware epidemic
Spammers and scammers alike have been churning out emails designed to ensnare fans looking for news about the death of the King of Pop. Some security researchers describe the surge in malware as, “bad, bad – really, really bad.”
This isn’t the first time that spammers have used breaking news to circulate malware. However the sheer number of scams surrounding Michael Jackson’s death are impressive and disturbing.
One email scam promises to show viewers a YouTube video of the “last work of Michael Jackson.” Instead the Web site’s payload attempts to steal their password.
Another scam attempts to spread a conspiracy theory about foul play in Jackson’s death. That email asks, “Who killed Michael Jackson?”, but the only answer it gives is a nasty trojan virus.
Since Jackson’s passing, the world has been scouring the Web for information about his death. So much so, that Google initially blocked searches believing they were a planned attack on its service.
Many mysteries remain about Jackson’s life and death, leading people to search online for answers. Many questioned reports of his passing based on the story being broken by non-traditional media outlet TMZ.
The news has also spiked purchases of Jackson songs on Amazon and iTunes, as well as the registration of domains related to his name. Internet Registrar GoDaddy, Inc reported the registering of over 9,803 domains in the past week.
Luckily most of these scams are fairly easy to avoid by using standard precautions. Users should have up-to-date security software and avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in email messages unless they know the sender.
Many of the scams related to videos also ask users to download a special player or update update your Flash version. The ‘special’ player is likely a trojan virus and you should only install Flash updates directly from Adobe.
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