Spam campaign roundup: The Memorial Day Edition (May 22, 2015)

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. This holiday is observed every year on the last Monday of May, which is the 25th this year.This day typically marks the start of summer vacation season. So, this weekend also happens to be one of the biggest sale weekends of the year. Cyber criminals are taking advantage of innocent customers by sending unsolicited advertisements for products which may lead to malware.

Over the last week, the Dell SonicWALL threats research team has been tracking down all Memorial Day related spam emails.

As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, we are receiving an increasing amount of this 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 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:

• Start Summer with a Flat Tummy, Drop 23# by Memorial Day -5735730
• Be Bikini-ready, Drop 13# by Memorial Day, Free-Sample Today -21045784
• Memorial Day Clearance Invitation: All remaining 2015 (Make) Must Go
• 25 Hour Jet Card Memorial Day Sale!!!
• Memorial Day-Survey: Confirm your $100**

Some emails are purporting to come from popular department stores or restaurant chains promising gift cards or coupons, that when clicked would take you to a URL different from the real merchant’s website. The consumer will then be asked to enter their personal information and to participate in a number of “offers” often costing money in fees or subscriptions without the guarantee of ever receiving the products and services or the free gift card at the end of the process.

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 Email Security and NGFW Threat Prevention solutions monitor and provide constant protection against such malicious spam and phishing threats.

Security News

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.