Tis the Season for Christmas Spam! Fa La La La La…

It didn’t take long for spammers to change from Halloween lures to spam and malware. They’ve already moved to the Christmas season, and we have started to see emails from the Cutwail botnet that are using a Christmas theme to trick users into visiting malicious websites. Spammers must be trying to beat retailers to the advertising punch this year.

The campaign we are currently monitoring uses subject lines that try to get users to visit websites selling fake jewelry and Rolexes. These spammers aren’t cheap either. Only the best will do for their customers–brands such as Cartier, Gucci, and Tag Heuer are on “sale” to all who would be fooled.

They even went so far as to include a logo to the Better Business Bureau and a “Hacker Safe” image on their site. Ironic, isn’t it?

This and similar sites are part of a campaign to steal your credit card information and identity. With the holiday shopping season rushing toward us, be sure to exercise extreme diligence regarding businesses you give your sensitive information to. The tricks that criminals use during the holiday season will be difficult to discern from legitimate marketing.

How can you stay safe? Avoid clicking links in emails. If you want to visit your favorite retail site to check out their holiday specials, type the address directly into the address bar. Most legitimate sites will not force you to click a link within an email to take advantage of their latest deals.