Spammers Take Aim At Olympics

Spammers have begun targeting the upcoming Olympic Games. A new series of spam messages claim to be from the Beijing Olympic Committee and claim that the recipient has won a lottery designed to promote the event and include attachments that are supposed to contain instructions on claiming their prize. The messages are actually phishing attempts designed to steal personal information. For the record, the real name of the organization that oversees the Olympics is Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Quite a mouthful!

Experts expect even more Olympic themed spams and scams as the opening of the Olympic Games nears. Exploiting current events, celebrity scandals and natural disasters is a favorite trick of of spammers. The Storm Worm got its name from its very first spams, which exploited the severe weather hammering Europe at the time. Other spams have mentioned the cyclone that hit Myanmar, the earthquake in China, and such made up news stories as the U.S. invading Iran and the Statue of Liberty burning down. Spammers are a crafty bunch and there is nothing they won’t do to try and get their messages opened and links clicked!