Got unexpected mail from MSNBC or CNN? It may be a scam!
Many users have been seeing a lot of emails apparently coming from msnbc or cnn, claiming to be breaking news stories, usually involving several pop-culture figures.
This represents one of the most well-crafted scams of all time, and it’s getting worse.
The link directs you to a website that will use a Windows Internet Explorer exploit to install what appears to be ‘anti-virus’ software, or to install a ‘codec’ to view a video. One variant even tries to get you to install an unsigned ‘flash’ viewer.
Never before have we seen such a well crafted scam, and most basic ’spam filters’ will not do well with these types of emails because they seem to come from legit sources and don’t have the usual signs (spelling errors, profanity, etc) of Un-Solicited Email (UCE) or Spam.
Below I have a picture of what the email looks like in the msnbc variant.
There are a few things that give this away as spam. First off- look at the From address. Obviously not from where it claims to be from. Also, if you mouse over the links (DO NOT CLICK THEM, just hover your mouse over it), most email software will display the actual destination of the link. Notice that it’s very different than where it claims to go.
These are some of the basic ways you can tell. Obviously if you see these messages, just delete them.
If you use our Privacy Networks email filtering, you may see Privacy Posts that look like this:
You’ll notice that these messages will more than likely end up in your greybox, and some messages may even get thru- DON’T panic. The Greybox will empty itself eventually or you may log into your Privacy Networks account on our server and purge the messages yourself, but no interaction from you is required.
Getting Spam Filtering (that works)
We’ll be honest- we didn’t see this for what it was until pretty late, because our spam filters were catching this early. If you don’t have our privacy networks filtering, we highly suggest you call us about getting it! Call us at 970-498-0808 and ask us if we can help you reduce your spam and take back your inbox.
What to do if you are infected
This infection spreading is what causes more of the emails to go out. If you get messages that your antivirus filter has detected several thousand viruses, please give us a call at 970-498-0808. In many cases, we can resolve this issue with you over the phone using our exclusive Remote Support options- in most cases, you won’t even have to bring in your PC, we can help you right over the phone (all you need is an internet connection).
If you are a customer that is able to use our Customer Support Portal, we ask you to please log a ticket using that system as our phones are very busy as we deal with this issue.
Getting Anti-Virus Software
We always recommend having good antivirus software. For home users, we recommend Norton from Symantec or AVG (which is free for home users). In your office, please talk to us about installing Symantec Corporate edition, or a host of internet content filters that can help prevent these issues.
If you’d like us to answer any questions you have, please go to our website and click “contact us” to send us a message. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
