Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned of
an email scam that pretends to be notification of a lottery win
from Coca-Cola.
The emails, which have the subject line "COCA COLA PROMOTION",
have been spammed out to internet users claiming that the recipient
has won $2.5 million in a lottery held by Coca-Cola earlier this
month. The email recipient is told they are one of only 50 lucky
winners around the world who were selected randomly after computers
found their email address on internet websites.
To collect their winnings, people are told to call, phone or fax
an agent who claims to be working on behalf of the soft drinks
giant.
However, Sophos warns computer users that this is a ruse to
steal personal details, and that the fraudsters behind the scam
campaign can use such information to steal money from bank accounts
and commit identity fraud.
The email claims that the recipient has won a
Coca Cola lottery.
Part of the email reads as follows:
We happily announce to you the draw of the coca cola
International promootion programs held on the 9th of June 2006 in
The United Kingdom. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:
564 75600545-188 with serial number 5388/02 drew the lucky numbers:
31-6-26-13-35-7, which subsequently won you the Promotion in the
2nd category.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of
US$2,500,000.00 (Two million, five hundred thousand, United States
Dollars) in cash credited to file RPC/9080118308/04 made available
from a total cash prize of US $125 Million dollars, shared amongst
the first Fifty (50) lucky winners in this category.
"These emails are not coming from Coca-Cola, and there is no
lottery waiting to give you millions of dollars for nothing.
Scammers who send emails like this are only interested in stealing
your identity, and using that information to empty your bank
account and use other tricks to fatten their wallets," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Email users should always
be suspicious of communications like this, as it's a common trick
used by organized criminals."
This email con-trick is the latest of many 419 scams. These
scams are named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal
code where many of the scams originated and are unsolicited emails
where the author offers a large amount of money. Once a victim has
been drawn in, requests are made from the fraudster for private
information which may lead to requests for money, stolen
identities, and financial theft.
Other examples of 419 email scams include a message claiming to
come from a Scottish
MP, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and
even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir space station.
Sophos recommends companies automatically update their corporate
email protection to defend their users against the threats posed by
spam, phishing, and malicious content.
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.