Spear Phishing Scam Strikes America’s Military and Senior Officials

A personalized phishing scam called spear-phishing is presently circulating online as it targets US military personnel and experienced government officials, stated theregister.co.uk dated August 11, 2011.

Reportedly, with web-links specifically tailored for each e-mail reader, the new spear phishing e-mails depict a fake sender's address in a manner that it looks as originating from one of the recipient's close associates. Also appearing as certain subscription form, the message states that its publication needs the user's authentication via utilizing his Google account credentials.

More specifically, the spoofed electronic mail tells the recipient that because of unnatural account operation, it'll be necessary to lock his account. The message then lists the unnatural operations as receiving, erasing alternatively taking down numerous e-mails through IMAP or POP within a brief time-span, dispatching too many e-mails which bounce back, utilizing browser extensions, file-storage or file-sharing applications, or intermediary program, which mechanically makes access to the user's account causing exposure of multiple Google e-mails. Therefore, if the user's Web-browser keeps loading repeatedly whilst trying to access his mailbox, the case maybe a browser problem, requiring cleaning the cookies and caches of the browser, the e-mail continues.

It (e-mail) then urges the recipient to go to the Gmail Server and make his account active. However, immediately when the user enters his credentials, the information proceeds towards a Houston, Texas-based server alternatively it is diverted back onto Gmail and eventually the user's inbox. Subsequently, the hackers make access to the victim's hijacked Gmail, and this happens in merely some hours, following which they download and view the e-mails, no less than twice daily.

Moreover, Security Researcher Mila Parkour, who works independently, points out that an identical assault targeted persons during June 2011, blogging that his present post is merely for outlining that when any compromise occurs which the media also covers like it did during June 2011, the compromise doesn't cease, while attackers too don't stop or surrender.

Eventually, it's because of the above kinds of constant assaults that the Anti-Phishing Working Group reported recently that there had started a growth in spear-phishing assaults during H2-2010, while they were flourishing during 2011 too.

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» SPAMfighter News - 8/22/2011