Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
 

New phishing scam: Spoofed campaign site

Prospective contributors to Kerry presidential campaign are latest targets

August 4, 2004 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - WASHINGTON -- Phishing fraudsters have found another group of victims to target -- people who want to donate to political campaigns.
SurfControl PLC, a Web and e-mail filtering software vendor in Congleton, U.K., noticed two apparent scams targeting people wanting to donate money to John Kerry's presidential campaign. E-mail with the subject line, "President John Kerry, please vote and contribute," directed recipients to two Web sites, one registered in India and the other in Texas.
So-called phishing scams -- stealing credit card numbers and other personal information by using spam e-mail to direct people to spoofed Web sites -- have been around for years, but this is the first political phishing scam SurfControl has observed, said Susan Larson, vice president of global content at SurfControl.
This latest scam doesn't appear to have a political motivation -- just an economic one, Larson said. The scam e-mail appeared within days of the end of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, she noted.
Phishing scammers can use current events to support their claims, Larson said. "They want people to think they have to do this now," she added. "That's typical of the way they get the best hit."
Both sites were designed to look like Kerry's official campaign site, johnkerry.com, Larson said. Neither of the apparently spoofed sites was still operating as of late yesterday, which along with the odd registration locations, led SurfControl to conclude the sites weren't legitimate, Larson said.
The apparently bogus e-mail directed recipients to http://testhost.yahoogoogle.biz/JohnKerry/contribute.html, registered in India, and www.johnkerry_edwards.org, registered to an individual in New Braunfels, Texas, according to SurfControl.
"It was a very legitimate-looking e-mail," Larson noted.
People with concerns about e-mail asking for political donations should contact the campaign directly -- in this case, at johnkerry.com, Larson advised.
Scammers using phishing tactics typically send out e-mail targeting users of financial institutions or other e-commerce sites. The bogus e-mail message often tells recipients there's a problem with their accounts, and that they need to re-enter their bank account number or credit card number at a Web site designed to look like the legitimate e-commerce site.
An estimated 57 million U.S. adults had received phishing scam e-mail as of May, according to Gartner Inc. Phishing attacks increased 500% between January and May 2004, and an estimated 3% of phishing e-mail recipients fill out the forms on spoofed Web sites, Larson said.


Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Additional Resources

Xerox
By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!
Microsoft
Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.
Sybase
In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

How Controlling Access to Privileged Accounts Can Keep Insider Threat from Hurting Your Bottom Line
This white paper explores insider attacks and insider risk, and shows how to control them by controlling and monitoring access. The paper describes...  

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

Military Uses Bit9 Parity to Defend Against New Generation Attacks
When a military organization faced an exercise, in which there was an attempt to breach and infect the network, they decided to use...  

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Eliminate Spam, Gain Productivity
In this exclusive whitepaper, learn all about the dangers of spam and the cost to your business....  

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Sustaining SOX Compliance: Best Practices to Mitigate Risk, Automate Compliance, and Reduce Costs
Since the adoption of SOX, much has been learned about IT compliance. Discover how to make SOX efforts more effective in "Sustaining Sox...  

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

IDC White Paper: CCM for IT Compliance and Risk Management
Learn from industry analysts how IT organizations are using configuration management to meet compliance requirements and instill best practices. Find out how these...  

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
Find out how combining ECM and BPM will help adress issues about content rich business processes....

 

Symantec Report on the Underground Economy
The Symantec Report on the Underground Economy examines activity on underground economy servers observed by Symantec between July 1st, 2007 and June 30th, 2008. It includes analysis and discussion of the goods and services advertised, advertisers participating in the economy, the servers and channels that host the trading, and a snapshot of piracy activity observed.
Download this white paper 
Data Loss Risks During Downsizing
With the dramatic increase in lost jobs, companies should be aware of the possibility that these employees may be walking off with their sensitive and confidential data. An independent study done by the Ponemon Institute surveyed employees leaving their jobs and taking company data with them. This type of data loss problem may be putting companies at risk for a potential data breach. This study will help you to understand what employees are doing with the data on the laptops their employers provided them.
Download this white paper 
3 Steps to Protect Confidential Data on Laptops
Learn how to avoid being part of the one-third of security breaches that occur due to laptop theft. This report outlines specific steps to help you secure confidential data and minimize the impact of data loss resulting from stolen or missing laptops.
Download this white paper 
Managing Spend on Information Security and Audit for Better Results
The benchmarks conducted by the IT Policy Compliance Group show almost all organizations have financial incentives exceeding 100 percent to make improvements to reduce financial risk from data loss, downtime and regulatory audit. This report includes findings covering the principal operational outcomes being experienced by organizations, financial risks, losses and returns, and the practices making the most difference to control risks, reduce costs, and improve results.
Download this Report!