Bin Laden's death leads to surge in cybercrimes, Internet scams

Security experts are warning Web-surfing consumers about a rise in cybercrime and scams related to Osama bin Laden's death.

Major news events are often accompanied by an uptick in cybercrime, as perpetrators seek to take advantage of Web searches for content such as pictures and videos.

"I suppose this was just inevitable," Dave Marcus, director of security research for McAfee Labs, wrote in a blog post. "The reported death of Osama Bin Laden is just too good a lure for cybercriminals and scammers to pass up."

Marcus said e-mails are circulating with links purporting to lead to photos of bin Laden's corpse. One message teases to a video showing bin Laden disproving his death by holding a newspaper with Monday's date. Clicking on the links generally opens files that install malware on the user's computer. In other cases, cybercriminals have poisoned Google Images results.

Facebook is also a fertile breeding ground for these scams, with malicious links being circulated on posts and messages within the social networking site. Researchers at Kaspersky Labs said they noticed scam ads on Facebook promising free merchandise in celebration of bin Laden's death. Users that click on the ads will be redirected multiple times, with each layer asking for more detailed personal information, Kaspersky Labs said.

Experts at Websense said cybercriminals compromised the website of Sohaib Athar, the Pakistani information technology consultant living in Abbottabad who provided a real-time account of the U.S. operation via his Twitter feed. In a blog post, Websense said a malicious code was embedded into the site that installs malware on a computer. The malware installs fake software that looks like a security tool, and prompts users to enter their credit card information to purchase a premium version of this software.

Security experts said consumers should be careful searching for information on the Web, visiting only websites of credible news sources, and be wary of links in e-mails. Making sure anti-virus and firewall software is updated is also helpful, as these kinds of attacks are increasingly common.

"We believe the hackers laid the criminal groundwork in advance, waiting for the right news trigger," said Rony Moshkovich, malware researcher at PC Tools.

Disclaimer: I use Avira Free Anti-Virus. Have been using it for 4-5 years and if a rogue script/file tries to execute, Avira proactively stops it from running, thereby preventing infection.

Disclaimer: I use nothin’ for anti-virus. I am on XP and use noscipt on Firefox. Use thunderbird for email.

Very cautious of course.

I also monitor what goes on in my machine. Windows Process Explorer is an invaluable tool. It’s free.

2 posted on 05/03/2011 3:36:28 PM PDT by George from New England (Escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)

“Dear sir/ma’am,
My name is Abdullah Binsurfing. I have come to possess teh last treasures of Osama bin Laden (p*ss be upon him) Including, but not limited to his favorite goat (slightly used), various hot pics of babes in burkas, 1 trillion zimbabwe dollar, etc. Please to send $50,000 USD to BSoetoro@whitehouse.gov to clear the storage fees and the goat can be yours!

Looking forward to hearing from you
signed your friend, Abdullah”

3 posted on 05/03/2011 3:42:41 PM PDT by dynachrome ("Our forefathers didn't bury their guns. They buried those that tried to take them.")

4 posted on 05/03/2011 3:45:06 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")

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