Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, are warning
computer users to be wary of a new email scam, which dupes
recipients into believing they could receive millions from a bank
account belonging to a victim of the Concorde air disaster, in
order for criminals to steal their identity and make a profit.
The emails purport to be from a chartered accountancy firm
claiming to have found a bank account containing £20.5 million
belonging to one of the disaster's victims, Christian Eich. Mr
Eich, a 57-year-old worker for BMW, died along with his wife and
two children in the Air France Flight 4590 crash at Paris's Charles
de Gaulle airport on 25 July 2000. The scammer states that unless
claimed by the end of the quarter, the money will be used to buy
weapons.
The email - which links to news reports concerning Mr Eich's
death, to give the scam more credibility - urges recipients to
respond quickly so that 25% of the money can be transferred.
However, Sophos warns users that this is likely to lead to a
request for personal details or an advance payment. Such
information can then be used to steal money from bank accounts and
commit identity fraud.
The email scam attempts to steal money by
referring to the Concorde air disaster.
"Mr Eich and his family were genuine victims of the terrible air
crash in Paris. Sick criminals are deliberately using their names
in an attempt to steal from others, without a thought for the
feelings of their friends and relatives," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos. "Everyone should be wary of emails
which offer an unexpected fortune, as it's a trick commonly used by
fraudsters to steal money and bank details."
This email con-trick is the latest of many 419 scams -
unsolicited emails in which the author offers money to draw a
victim in, before requesting private information that can then be
used for identity or financial theft. Other 419 email scams include
messages claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late
Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese
royal family, and an African astronaut stranded on the Mir space
station.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses
from the threats of both spam and viruses; and that users do not
open or reply to unsolicited emails.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.