The fake email used in the attack looks like this:

Please disregard such obvious phishing emails and delete them. Similar attacks have been targeting other operators and other antivirus companies as well.

On 25/07/11 At 02:06 PM

Just read on article on thestar.com.my about a group scamming money via SMS.

In Kuala Lumpur Malaysia a notorious SMS scam syndicate tricking victims into parting with their money by convincing them that they have won cash prizes has been busted with the arrest of 26 people.

This group is actually part of a SMS scam syndicate we busted last year in Tawau. Police also seized four laptops, 73 handphones, 41 account logbooks, ATM and credit cards and RM6,000 during the raid. Each laptop is able to send out up to 1,000 SMSes a day.

Click here to read the full article.

Text messages sent from companies trying to flog their services to you or trying to get you you to call or text a premium service number are not just intensely annoying, they are spam.

Here are some ways that you can minimise your exposure to text message spam.

• Don’t Reply
  If you reply to a text message from a person that you don’t know, you could then begin receiving continuing messages that you didn’t request. Remember that these messages may cost you money each time you receive them.
• Be Careful Who You Give Your Mobile Number To
  The simplest way to minimise your exposure to text message spam is to be careful about who you share your mobile number. When completing forms both online and offline think twice before filling in the mobile phone number field. These forms can sometimes initiate you receiving information and advertising, they get around the spam aspect of doing this by carefully wording their terms and conditions. Sometimes in very fine – fine print.
• Solicited or Unsolicited
  Generally speaking there are two different types of commercial text messages being sent – solicited and unsolicited. You receive solicited messages because you you selected (opted in) to receive them. Unsolicited text messages on the other hand are a nuisance, could potentially cost you lots of money and may lead to problems.
• Call the Company
  Call the company and ask them to stop the messages. Use directory assistance or the internet to research the company sending you the text message spam. If you find a contact number (and you won’t always, particularly for the true text message spammers) call them and demand they stop sending you messages.
• Competitions, Ringtones and Horoscopes = Be Careful
  Be careful when entering competitions or download ringtones or horoscopes by SMS. Terms and conditions for these services may require you subscribe to the service on an ongoing basis that charges you at a premium rate.
• Delete It
  Delete text message spam. Some text message spam messages encourage the user to call an expensive premium number. Delete these messages and don’t call any number provided.
• Try STOP
  SMS the word STOP. If you continually receive text message spam from a number, text the word STOP by reply. This is the usual way for you to opt out of a service.
• Forms
  When filling out forms take a minute to read the terms and conditions before completing the mobile phone number field. These forms can sometimes commit you to receiving information and advertising.

Google’s Android mobile operating system has been in circulation and probably somewhere in the order of a million users already and it is generating more interest and gathering thousands if not tens of thousands of new users every day.

Unfortunately as it becomes more popular it becomes more of a target for unscrupulous developers creating and making available fraudulent applications on the Android Market.

There have purportedly been some bogus online banking applications written by an anonymous developer known as “09Droid”. He (or she) didn’t have just one dodgy application available, but in fact he had decent collection of online banking applications for sale on the Android Market.

09Droid’s applications were being sold but it still isn’t known what exactly they did. To date we haven’t been able to get a copy, so we don’t know either.

Because the applications were not developed or authorized by any of the banks they were available for, they didn’t actually do real online banking from the Android device. As far as we understand it all they did was to open the web interface of the online bank for the user. However in all likelihood could have been used to steal user credentials.

09Droid isn’t available for questioning as he has gone to ground. The good news is that his applications have been removed from the Android Market. Previously available contact information leads you to an empty BlogSpot page.

Many of the affected banks seem to have assumed the worst (probably with good reason) and have gone ahead and issued public warnings to their clients.

An example warning from Bayport Credit Union:

If you have downloaded and are using an application from 09Droid it would be a good idea to remove applications from 09Droid from your Android device until more information is uncovered.

09Droid had the following online banking applications for sale in the Android Marketplace (they have all been removed).

• Abbey Bank
• Alaska USA FCU
• Alliance & Leicester (v. 1.1)
• Bank Atlantic
• Bank of America
• Bank of Queensland
• Barclaycard (v. 1.1)
• Barclays Bank (v. 1.2)
• BB&T
• Chase
• City Bank Texas
• Commerce Bank
• Compass Bank
• Deutsche Bank
• Fifty Third Bank v.1.1
• First Republic Bank v.1.1
• Great Florida Bank
• Grupo Banco Popular
• HSBC US (v. 1.2)
• ING DiBa v.1.1
• Key Bank
• LloydsTSB
• M&I
• Mechanics Bank v.1.1
• MFFCU v.1.1
• Midwest
• Nationwide (v. 1.1)
• NatWest (v. 1.1)
• Navy Federal Credit Union (v. 1.1)
• PNC
• Royal Bank of Canada
• RBS v.1.1
• SunTrust
• TD Bank v.1.1
• US Bank v.1.2
• USAA v.1.1
• Valley Credit Union
• Wachovia Corp (v. 1.2)
• Wells Fargo (v. 1.1)

Australia’s media watchdog has won a test case against several parties who were running an elaborate text message spamming scheme.

It is the first time the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has brought a spam case involving SMS messages before the courts.

It took action against eight parties who were running a complicated scam to get mobile phone numbers from members of dating websites.

The scheme involved setting up fake member profiles on the sites and then sending unsolicited text messages to genuine members.

For additional information visit the original article.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is trying to crack down on a scam in which text messages are sent to mobile phones in a bid to lure money from their owners.

SCAMwatch officials say the messages inform people they have won $123,000 and then asks for an email address to organise a money transfer.

They believe the messages originate from overseas and want to hear from people who have received them.

For additional information visit the original article.