Michael Jackson’s death last week left a mourning fan base of gargantuan proportions. Fans of the “King of Pop” (one of which this writer is not) have expressed their grief and sentiments through email, youtube, twitter, and various other social and Internet-related media in a way rarely seen before. But for many, their state of sadness has left them vulnerable to email and web-based attacks.
It’s no secret that spammers and malware creators can always be counted on to deliver a bevy of non-benevolent business when a phenomenon such as this reveals itself. At only 50 years old, nobody (least of all the average spammer) expected MJ to die so suddenly. Subsequently, Micheal Jackson email scams got off to a slow start, but over the past weekend attacks have ramped up significantly. Have a look at an actual Mailprotector quarantine page to see some of the spam we’ve stopped over the past 3 days:
A quick Mailprotector quarantine search for the words "Michael Jackson" yields quite a few results.
It’s not really surprising. Spammers have always had a propensity to follow the buzz of current trends and hot news stories. They’ve learned what works, and focusing on current events works very well for them. The Michael Jackson death story is the latest “easy target” scenario, but be forewarned that spammers never stop looking for creative ways to get to your inbox, so it’s important to take proper measures to ensure you’re protected from the Bad stuff.
The best way to keep safe is to use an email security service (such as Mailprotector) that provides an exchange spam filter, which tells spam messages to Beat It before they even get to your email server. If such a service is not an option for you, however, you can always take the common-sense approach to protect yourself:
- Always be very careful to only open email from trusted senders
- Never click links in emails that seem even remotely suspicious
Better safe than sorry is always the way to go when dealing with potentially harmful email. The Michael Jackson spam attacks will subside, but if history is any indicator the next spam-inducing current event is just around the corner, and for those of us in the email security industry it promises to be one heck of a Thriller.
