Just eight hours after Michael Jackson's death, cybercriminals
unleashed the first wave of related spam, according to security
firm Sophos.
The e-mails claim to have vital information about Jackson's
death, but anyone replying to the message will unwittingly confirm
their e-mail address, which criminals can use in future spam
campaigns.
Recipients of any e-mails claiming to be about Jackson's death
should be wary as this type of news story is a perfect vehicle for
spammers, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at
Sophos.
"These spammers are relying on curious users to reply to their
bogus claims, but if you receive one of these messages you just
need to delete it," he said.
Spammers are also exploiting interest in Farrah Fawcett, who
also died yesterday, to spread fake anti-virus software, Cluley
warned.
Internet metrics firms have reported that all major news sites
and some social networking sites like Twitter have experienced
delayed responses because of extremely high levels of
traffic.
