Scam emails can claim that recipients have won a fortune in a
lottery.
IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded computer users
about the danger of internet scams following the arrest of ten
people in Spain alleged to have defrauded victims via an email
lottery scam.
The ten people, all Nigerian nationals, are suspected of making
more than 19,000 Euros ($28,000) in three months by demanding
payments from innocent internet users who believed they had won a
lottery.
Police report that the emails sent by the suspects were sent
from the Teatinos area of Malaga in Spain, by piggybacking on a
neighbour's wi-fi internet connection without permission. Seven
arrests were made in Malaga, and three more in Huelva province.
"If an email sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Emails
scams like this arrive in the inboxes of many every day of the
week, all around the world - and clearly some people are falling
for them," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "It sounds
like the authorities were able to shut down this scam quite quickly
before too many people were affected - but there are plenty more
cybercriminals looking for ways to steal people's identities and
rob their bank accounts."
Sophos experts note that Malaga is no stranger to Nigerian-run
email scams. In 2005, 310 people were arrested
in Malaga in what was said to be the biggest ever bust of a lottery
scam gang. The arrests followed an investigation by the FBI and
Spanish police into a scam run by Nigerian gangs.
Sophos believes that the police claims that the gang used an
innocent party's internet connection to send their bogus lottery
emails, underlines the importance of properly securing wireless
access points at home.
"If you haven't properly secured your wi-fi connection at home
you are effectively leaving the front door open for anybody close
by to take advantage of it," continued Cluley. "Everyone running a
wireless access point needs to learn how to stop unsavory
characters from using it to spew out their spam messages, download
illegal content, or steal information."
Sophos experts recommend that computer users be wary of all
unsolicited emails, and protect their email gateways with a
consolidated product to defend against
spam, phishing, viruses and spyware.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.