Is your e-mail inbox filled with “alerts” from CNN and MSNBC? You’re in good company thanks to a new ruse by spammers whose goal is to install malicious software on your computer.
The Better Business Bureau serving northern Colorado and Wyoming warns computer users to not click on any e-mail that purports to be from CNN or MSNBC or any other news outlet to which you have not subscribed.
The CNN e-mail subject lines tout “Daily Top 10” and “CNN Alerts: Breaking News” while the MSNBC spam e-mails carry various “breaking news” subject lines.
Users who click on links within the e-mail are sent to Web sites where they are instructed to download a video player plug-in. Instead, the malicious software known as the Storm worm, which has been around for a few years in various guises, infects the user’s computer, giving hackers complete control over the machine.
Your BBB advises:
- Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
- Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
- Do not provide personal or financial information to anyone who solicits information.
- Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- Validate the legitimacy of the organization by directly accessing the organization's Web site rather than following an alleged link to the site.