Security News

Microsoft Teams will alert users of incoming spam calls
2021-08-13 18:02

Microsoft is working on adding a spam call notification feature to the Microsoft 365 Teams collaboration platform. Once the new feature rolls out, Microsoft Teams will alert Office 365 users when they're receiving what looks like spam calls.

Spam is Chipotle's secret ingredient: Marketing email hijacked to dish up malware
2021-07-29 16:00

Chipotle.com, the deception would be evident upon examining the raw email header data. "It is important that recipients notice the discrepancy between a sender's display name and its actual email address," wrote Bukar Alibe, cyber security analyst at INKY, in a blog post provided to The Register.

Spam Kingpin Peter Levashov Gets Time Served
2021-07-20 21:30

A federal judge in Connecticut today handed down a sentence of time served to spam kingpin Peter "Severa" Levashov, a prolific purveyor of malicious and junk email, and the creator of malware strains that infected millions of Microsoft computers globally. A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, the 40-year-old Levashov operated under the hacker handle "Severa." Over the course of his 15-year cybercriminal career, Severa would emerge as a pivotal figure in the cybercrime underground, serving as the primary moderator of a spam community that spanned multiple top Russian cybercrime forums.

Spam Downpour Drips New IcedID Banking Trojan Variant
2021-06-25 01:05

Researchers have seen a new variant of the IcedID banking trojan sliding in via two new spam campaigns. ZIP files full of the malware - or links to such ZIP files - the new twist on the old banking trojan is a tweaked downloader, which the threat actors moved from the initial x86 version to the latest: an x86-64 version.

Tinder spam campaign hides "handwritten" links in profile images
2021-06-19 13:45

A new trend has emerged on dating apps like Tinder with spammers sneaking in links within profile images. Multiple such Tinder spam profiles reviewed by BleepingComputer shared some common characteristics.

Massive spam campaign promotes online casinos with misleading emails
2021-06-05 14:45

Spammers are abusing affiliate programs to promote online casinos, such as Raging Bull Casino, Sports and Casino, Ducky Luck, and Royal Ace Casino, with misleading emails. To refer users, the affiliates will create specially crafted URLs that contain an affiliates ID or drops a cookie that allows the casino to give them credit when a referral registers a new account.

Watch out: These unsubscribe emails only lead to further spam
2021-05-30 18:55

Scammers use fake 'unsubscribe' spam emails to confirm valid email accounts to be used in future phishing and spam campaigns. For some time, spammers have been sending emails that simply ask if you wish to unsubscribe or subscribe.

American Express Fined for Sending Millions of Spam Messages
2021-05-24 20:53

American Express Services Europe has been fined £90,000 by a U.K. regulator, which found the company illegally blasted out 4 million marketing emails to customers who had opted out of receiving them. Amex claimed the emails weren't marketing messages, but service communications, which are allowed under U.K. information privacy regulations.

Amex fined £90,000 for sending 4 million spam emails in a year
2021-05-23 14:00

The UK data regulator has fined American Express £90,000 for sending over 4 million spam emails to customers within one year. "During the investigation the ICO found that Amex had sent over 50 million, of what it classed as, servicing emails to its customers," the UK Information Commissioner's Office said.

Cuba Ransomware partners with Hancitor for spam-fueled attacks
2021-05-07 09:00

The Cuba Ransomware gang has teamed up with the spam operators of the Hancitor malware to gain easier access to compromised corporate networks. Similar to how Ryuk and Conti partnered with TrickBot and Egregor and ProLock worked with QBot, the Cuba Ransomware has partnered with Hancitor to gain access to compromised networks.