Watch out for Valentine’s Day spammers

Watch out for Valentine’s Day spammers

Spammers are on the lookout for Valentine’s Day bargain hunters, so be vigilant if you’re looking for great deals online.

Symantec researchers are observing a surge of spam as Valentine’s Day approaches Unbelievable discounts on jewellery, dinners and expensive gift articles are key themes for Valentine’s Day related spam. Other popular fake promotions include online pharmaceuticals, fake e-cards, gift cards, chocolates and flowers, all designed with the goal of capturing a person’s personal and financial details.

In one spam sample, people are lured to purchase silver, gold and platinum jewellery with promises of additional free gifts. By clicking on the link, the person is redirected to a page asking for their personal information in order to receive the gift that they have selected.

Social network spam is also not far behind other information-stealing techniques when it comes to capturing personal data. There are many fake applications targeting Valentine’s Day that direct a person to a survey site. Below is an example of one such fake application.

Symantec advises internet users to adopt the following best practices to avoid falling prey to phishing attacks:
• Do not open unsolicited emails from unknown sources.
• Do not click on any links included in email messages. Instead, type the link in the address bar.
• Do not open attached files that claim to be Valentine’s greeting cards, e-cards, etc.
• Buy products from authentic websites that are protected by SSL certificates.
• Install effective antivirus and antispam software.

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