Spam campaign roundup: The Fathers Day Edition (June 14, 2013)

Father’s Day is coming up this weekend. It is a day of honoring fathers and in many countries it is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Many will buy gifts and struggle for last minute ideas. Because shoppers are expected to spend, cyber criminals will use this opportunity to profit through spam campaigns.

Over the last week, the Dell SonicWALL threats research team has been tracking all Father’s Day related spam emails.

As the Father’s Day weekend approaches, we are receiving an increasing amount of holiday related spam emails. These emails have a common theme of trying to lure consumers to click on the links and provide their personal information in exchange for access to special offers. The following are some of the most common email subjects:

• 31 Hours Left On All Father’s Day Deals
• Please activate your 2,300 dollars by Fathers Day
• Nobody will believe you paid 50% less on your car at this Fathers day Event
• Father Day – Get 15 Premium Cigars + Bonus Humidor + Free Shipping!
• Instant Price Markdowns if you are a father on Fathers Day (must see this)(50% off) Fathers Day Mark

The links on the emails will take users to a spam site which is part of the same affiliate marketing scheme that we have seen in the past. It tries to convince users to sign up for different offers and these scammers will earn commissions for each successful subscription.

We urge our users to always be vigilant and cautious with any unsolicited email and to avoid providing any personal information, particularly if you are not certain of the source.

Dell SonicWALL Gateway Antivirus monitors and provides constant protection against such malicious threats.

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The SonicWall Capture Labs Threat Research Team gathers, analyzes and vets cross-vector threat information from the SonicWall Capture Threat network, consisting of global devices and resources, including more than 1 million security sensors in nearly 200 countries and territories. The research team identifies, analyzes, and mitigates critical vulnerabilities and malware daily through in-depth research, which drives protection for all SonicWall customers. In addition to safeguarding networks globally, the research team supports the larger threat intelligence community by releasing weekly deep technical analyses of the most critical threats to small businesses, providing critical knowledge that defenders need to protect their networks.