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Brand Spoofing or Phishing http://www.surfcontrol.com/news/newsitem.aspx?id=653 SurfControl Says 'Brand Spoofing' or 'Phishing' Spams Up Nearly 500 Percent Since January Company
Uncovers Latest Trick To Make Brand Spoof Spam Look Legitimate The number of brand spoof scams flooding the Internet has exploded since May last year, according to SurfControl’s Global Content Team. The team of researchers based in fifteen countries, monitors global spam trends and maintains a database of digital spam “fingerprints” as part of its content filtering tools to help companies identify and stop spam in its tracks. The number of unique scams identified by SurfControl has grown 477 percent, from 33 to 155 in the first five months of this year and by 51 times (3 to 155) since May 2003, according to Susan Larson, SurfControl’s vice president for global content. The latest brand spoof spam, identified by SurfControl on May 12 and targeting US Bank, is one of the most sophisticated examples the company has seen, according to Larson. “Brand spoof spammers are continuing to make clever use of technology to make scams look more and more legitimate and con people into providing personal financial information,” Larson said. “The emergence of this new technique clearly shows how lucrative this type of fraud is and why spammers are so determined to bilk unwary Internet users out of their money and personal identities.” In the latest scam addressed to US Bank customers, the scam asks e-mail recipients to verify and update their “Internet Banking Accounts,” by clicking on a link within the e-mail. E-mail recipients who click the link in the scam e-mail are taken to a page that displays a fake address bar containing the real US Bank Web site address. This address bar has been constructed to overlay an e-mail user’s existing address bar, which normally identifies the address of the scammer’s server. Larson said the spammers use Javascript code to calculate where the address bar is located on the e-mail user’s Web browser, so it can be covered with the alleged “legitimate” address details. The new technique makes the spoof far more realistic than previously reported brand spoofs which took advantage of a Microsoft Internet Explorer bug to make the Internet browser address bar show the URL of the spoofed company, but actually displayed content from spammers’ Web sites. A patch for this particular bug was released earlier this year, but SurfControl warns companies to be on guard against similar security-oriented spoofing techniques. Common sense and enhanced e-mail security management policies, including use of filtering technology that can detect the presence of blended threats, such as viruses and malicious code buried in HTML, can stem the tide of spam scams. “Filtering technology like SurfControl stops e-mail scams from ever reaching the end user,” Larson said. “When backed up with basic e-mail education – simply teaching employees to use the ‘filter between their ears’ – companies can stop spam, and protect both employee privacy and the corporate network.” The increase in such dangerous spam is linked to the continuing growth of the Internet and unwary e-mail users. Spammers also are flocking to offshore ‘bullet proof’ Web hosting companies that are ungoverned by U.S. laws, and guarantee they won’t be shut down. The growth of viruses like MyDoom, which give spammers the ability to send e-mails anonymously through compromised machines, also contributes to the problem. SurfControl offers the following guidelines to companies to protect users from brand spoofing threats: 1. Educate users that under no circumstances should they volunteer confidential information in response to an unsolicited e-mail. If they are worried that the message may be legitimate, advise them to contact the company or organization directly. 2. Advise users to never follow any link in an unsolicited or suspicious e-mail. The simple visit to a Web site could trigger multiple IT threats, including viruses or even a Trojan horse program allowing the spammer to control the computer remotely. 3. Ensure that all anti-virus and operating system software is up to date and configured with the most recent security updates. 4. Monitor Internet and spam security information resources—for example, SurfControl issues regular Network Risk alerts to company customers frequently. “SurfControl reminds users that they would never offer personal or financial information to a stranger on the phone, and the same practice should apply over the Internet,” said Larson. “In fact, it is unlikely that any legitimate organization, from an online retailer to the U.S. government, would be requesting confidential information via an unsolicited e-mail.” Companies using SurfControl E-mail Filter can immediately block any fraudulent spam they identify by adding it to the filter’s rules and custom dictionaries. SurfControl’s unique Anti-Spam Agent uses digital signature recognition technology and compares e-mails with a constantly updated database of known spam, including the most recent brand spoofing scams. Companies also can rely on SurfControl’s own multi-layer technology that uses lexical analysis based on advanced Boolean logic to build accurate spam-identifying rules and dictionaries. SurfControl E-mail Filter also allows companies to add, edit or delete words, phrases and alphanumeric patterns to construct rules that identify spam that may be particular to the individual company or industry. Thanks and Happy Computing! © 2004 Trey Asher / Asher Computer Service THIS DOCUMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS WEBSITE ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The information type should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Asher Computer Service and Asher Computer Service cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. |