Security Experts Warn that Fake Fax Report Emails Making Rounds on the Internet

Softpedia.com published a report on 12th February, 2014 quoting a warning by security experts as "fake fax report emails are being sent by cybercriminals to trick users into downloading a piece of malware into their computers."

The emails entitled "Incoming Fax Report" ask recipients to click on a link that instructs them to reads view the file online and the link directs to a malicious website which has been set to serve malware.

Users who click on the link hoping to see the said fax file shall be redirected to a site which displays a message "please wait". This compromised site attempts to load tainted scripts that then redirect the user to a malware loaded webpage.

The precise configuration and payload of the malware-ridden websites may fluctuate. But malware from such websites may perform more than one nefarious action. It may gather data from the tainted machine and send it to the criminals and permit cybercriminals to control the system remotely and also connect it to a botnet. It can also download and establish more malware which can carry out various other activities.

Faxes can also be mailed and received through online faxing services as the use of fax machines at offices has reduced considerably in recent years. These services may deliver Internauts an email informing them of a fax received in their inbox.

Security experts who are analyzing this ongoing spam email campaign observe that the cyber criminals rely on few patrons of these fax services who may click without being cautious.

Experts add that naïve customers may get panicked and click the link contained in the email believing the hijacking of their bank accounts has occurred or some type of online transactions from their account have been made without their prior knowledge.

Therefore security experts advise users not to click on links contained in such suspicious emails as in the above case to avoid being victimized by these fake emails. Moreover, please ensure that your computer is guarded with proper security controls including updated anti-spam, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and firewall.

» SPAMfighter News - 2/18/2014