IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded computer users
of the danger of email scams following an attempted financial fraud
which posed as a communication from a Christian couple offering
their puppy for adoption.
The emails, which come from a husband and wife who claim to be
on a Christian Mission in Africa say that their Yorkshire Terrier
dog is not coping well in the hot weather.
Part of the email, which give contact phone numbers in Nigeria,
reads:
I and my Husband have now decided to give her out on
Adoptioto someone that can give her a good home and take very good
care of her. She's a very loving puppy, she will be a good
companion. If you know you can take very good care of her do send
me a reply back through my email address below or you can give me a
call so we can discuss on phone.
The scam emails offer a Yorkshire Terrier dog
for adoption.
"Most of us are probably all too familiar with the scam emails
which claim you have inherited millions of dollars, or won the
lottery, but this time the scammers are deliberately pulling on the
heartstrings of animal lovers," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "The criminals are offering the
pet puppy in an attempt to gather information from kind-hearted
people who jump in to help. If you respond the scammers will try
and steal confidential information about you, or sting you for
cash. If you fall for a trick like this you'll be the one ending up
in the doghouse."
These email con-tricks, known as a 419 scam, are named after the
relevant section of the Nigerian penal code where many of the scams
originated and are unsolicited emails where the author typically
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 persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an
associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an
African astronaut stranded on the Mir spacestation.
Earlier this year Sophos reported how a former treasurer of
Alcona County, Michigan, had been arrested
after allegedly investing more than $1.2 million of county funds in
Nigerian fraud scams.
Sophos recommends companies protect their desktops, servers and
gateways with a consolidated solution to
thwart the threats of viruses, spyware, phishing, hackers and
spam.
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.