Potentially malicious spam emails and e-cards about Christmas and New Year - SSO-AD2008-023

03 December 2008

Software and platform/s affected

The following software is affected

Not applicable.

What is the problem?

This is a reminder that around the Christmas and New Year holiday season criminals often send malicious spam emails and fake e-cards (with a Christmas or New Year theme) which are designed to infect your computer with a malicious program (eg, virus or other malware) that could steal your passwords and other personal information (identity theft).

We are not currently aware of any specific malicious Christmas e-cards that are currently in circulation but this may quickly change.

What we recommend you do

Only click on links in emails and e-cards from people you know and trust
Regard as suspicious and delete any e-cards which don't specify a person's name known personally to you, such as "from a friend"
Delete and do not open any attachments to emails if you are not expecting them
Use an up-to-date anti-virus product.

Where you can find more information

The practice by criminals of sending malicious e-cards around Christmas, New Year and other major holidays is not new. These are some reports from previous years:

Disclaimer

This Advisory has been prepared by AusCERT for the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

The information is intended for used by home users and small to medium sized businesses and is general information only and not intended as advice and was accurate and up to date at the time of publishing. The material and information in this Advisory is not adapted to any particular person's circumstances and therefore cannot be relied upon to be of assistance in any particular case. In any important matter, you should seek professional advice relevant to your own circumstances.

The Commonwealth, AusCERT, and all other persons associated with this Advisory accept no responsibility or liability for information either included or referred to in the Advisory. No responsibility or liability is accepted for any damage, loss or expense incurred as a result of the information contained in the Advisory, whether by way of negligence or otherwise.

The listing of a person or organisation in any part of this site or Advisory does not imply any form of endorsement by the Commonwealth of the products or services provided by that person or organisation. Similarly, links to other web sites have been inserted for your convenience and do not constitute endorsement of material at those sites, or any associated organisation, product or service.

Please note that material in this Advisory, as the case may be, includes views or recommendations of third parties, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth, or indicate its commitment to particular course of action. Material on this site or in this Advisory may also include information provided by third parties. The Commonwealth cannot verify the accuracy of information that has been provided by third parties.

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Home Advisories Alerts Newsletters Subscribe or Log In Visit Stay Smart Online	Larger text Smaller text You are here: Stay Smart Online Alert Service > Client applications > Potentially malicious spam emails and e-cards about Christmas and New Year - SSO-AD2008-023 Potentially malicious spam emails and e-cards about Christmas and New Year - SSO-AD2008-023 03 December 2008 Software and platform/s affected The following software is affected Not applicable. What is the problem? This is a reminder that around the Christmas and New Year holiday season criminals often send malicious spam emails and fake e-cards (with a Christmas or New Year theme) which are designed to infect your computer with a malicious program (eg, virus or other malware) that could steal your passwords and other personal information (identity theft). We are not currently aware of any specific malicious Christmas e-cards that are currently in circulation but this may quickly change. What we recommend you do Only click on links in emails and e-cards from people you know and trust Regard as suspicious and delete any e-cards which don't specify a person's name known personally to you, such as "from a friend" Delete and do not open any attachments to emails if you are not expecting them Use an up-to-date anti-virus product. Where you can find more information The practice by criminals of sending malicious e-cards around Christmas, New Year and other major holidays is not new. These are some reports from previous years: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1709077.stm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2127501,00.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39243458,00.htm http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,107339,00.html http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/11/28/233644/google-warns-of-christmas-malware-e-mails.htm Disclaimer This Advisory has been prepared by AusCERT for the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. The information is intended for used by home users and small to medium sized businesses and is general information only and not intended as advice and was accurate and up to date at the time of publishing. The material and information in this Advisory is not adapted to any particular person's circumstances and therefore cannot be relied upon to be of assistance in any particular case. In any important matter, you should seek professional advice relevant to your own circumstances. The Commonwealth, AusCERT, and all other persons associated with this Advisory accept no responsibility or liability for information either included or referred to in the Advisory. No responsibility or liability is accepted for any damage, loss or expense incurred as a result of the information contained in the Advisory, whether by way of negligence or otherwise. The listing of a person or organisation in any part of this site or Advisory does not imply any form of endorsement by the Commonwealth of the products or services provided by that person or organisation. Similarly, links to other web sites have been inserted for your convenience and do not constitute endorsement of material at those sites, or any associated organisation, product or service. Please note that material in this Advisory, as the case may be, includes views or recommendations of third parties, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth, or indicate its commitment to particular course of action. Material on this site or in this Advisory may also include information provided by third parties. The Commonwealth cannot verify the accuracy of information that has been provided by third parties.
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