Security news7 February 2005
Spammers exploit Harry Potter to make money fast, reports Sophos
Anti-spam experts at Sophos have discovered a spam campaign attempting to recruit internet users to a "make money fast" scheme by exploiting the popular fictional boy wizard, Harry Potter.
Sophos's global network of spam monitoring stations have sighted thousands of instances of an email claiming to be instructions on how to win a copy of the as-yet-unpublished next book by JK Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
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| The email claims to offer a copy of the new Harry Potter book. |
The emails claim that recipients can get a free copy of the book by clicking on a link, but this in fact takes users to a website offering advice on "free money-making secrets", with no mention of the troubled teenage wizard.
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| The spam email really links to a website offering 'free money making secrets'. |
"A lot of people are trying to make a quick buck out of the internet - and some are doing it in immoral or unethical ways," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Websites like this one need to pull in traffic and prospective customers somehow, and it appears they're now using the trick of pretending to offer a copy of the Hogwarts' hero's latest adventure."
Last week, Harry Potter author JK Rowling warned fans to beware internet fraudsters who were phishing for credit card details by pretending to offer electronic copies of the new book online.
Sophos PureMessage has been proactively protecting businesses around the world from this latest spam campaign since it was first seen at the beginning of the month. Sophos experts report that the spam campaign appears to originate from the area of Chicago.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses.
