Trick or Treat With Spam and Malicious Screensavers

I have previously blogged that some of the most common techniques scammers and cybercriminals use are news events and holidays. Balloon Boy and the Windows 7 Launch are good examples. My colleague Sam Masiello’s blog on President Barack Obama’s Nobel Prize is another excellent example. With Halloween approaching rapidly, the tricks are already knocking on your inbox and at your browser’s window.

As usual, although the lure differs depending upon the news or event, these tricks lead to the usual suspects–fake products and pharmacy spam. Just think of it: Would you like some candy or Viagra for Halloween?

Here’s another:

And our favorite with a holiday spin:

Here are a few message subjects to fear:

Approved meds available without recipe!
A HORRIFYING HALLOWEEN SALE!
ONLY TILL 31OCTOBER HALLOWEEN SALE: 40% OFF ALL OUR SOFT USE THIS DISCOUNT CODE: HALL-6666
Biggest deal this halloween
Low prices for big enlargement
Halloween discount
Annual Halloween Sale

While searching for “Halloween screensavers,” I ran across more than a few questionable websites. The following was the fifth entry on the first Google results page! No worries, we already had it flagged through our SiteAdvisor technology:

Keep your security updated and search safely this week!