Spam campaign roundup: The Independence Day Edition (July 3, 2014)

As we all know, United States’ independence day is on the fourth of July. Independence day is commonly associated with fairs, fireworks, barbecues, getting together, etc. Since sales levels will be lower during holidays, stores offer deals and specials for July 4th. The spammers, as always, taking advantage of the major festivities, are trying to spread spam.

Over the last week, the Dell SonicWALL threats research team has been following all Independence Day related spam emails and has observed a steady increase as July 4th approaches.

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 deep discounts and offers. Most of these emails are poorly crafted with evident errors in grammar and spelling. The following are some of the most common email subjects:

• July 4th – ONE DAY ONLY (Up To 50% Reducation)
• 4th of July Clearance on New Cars
• 4th of July Special – Gensets
• Instant July 4th Price Markdowns (you have to see this)
• July 4th sign and drive even 2014 – Access now
• Don’t miss these July 4th Auto Markdowns Godbcvj

These emails look convincing trying to attract consumers with offers such as free gift cards. Once the user clicks on the link, they will lead to an affiliate website asking for survey which asks for their personal information.

As of now, we have not seen any malware associated with this spam campaign.

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.