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'Smooth Criminal' Spammers Capitalizing on Michael Jackson's Death

by Warren Riddle on June 26, 2009 at 04:25 PM


It certainly didn't take spammers long to capitalize on the death of the King of Pop. Appearing almost as quickly as the tasteless jokes, spam messages claiming to have information surrounding Michael Jackson's mysterious death have been sweeping the Net.

According to The New York Times, security firm Sophos originally discovered the first set of spam messages, which offer details of the gloved one's death if the reader replies to the message. A second form, identified by Websense, offers a phony link to a YouTube video supposedly containing news of the passing. Instead, clickers are directed to a site that installs information-stealing Trojan horse software.

It's always important to remain wary of clicking links, especially those claiming to have inside info on breaking news. Spammers frequently take advantage of hot current topics, like the presidential election and swine flu, so stay on your guard. To help deter and avoid spammers, you can check out a helpful guide right here. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: malware, michaeljackson, scammers, top, virus

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