Actor Heath Ledger, who died at a tragically young age recently, has become the latest tool in the ongoing cybercrime attacks on computer users. Cybercriminals are using fan sympathy for the actor’s death to trick unsuspecting internet users into downloading malware to their computers via bogus web sites.
Mere hours after the actor was found dead, malware scammers began creating bogus web sites to capitalize on his popularity and on the many searches for information being done in the wake of the tragedy. These malware infested pages show up on search results, leading the unsuspecting internet user to pages filled with malicious links, spyware, malware, viruses and phishing scams.
By clicking the link to these pages, uses see a pop up window inviting them to download an “Active X plug in”. This plug in is a trojan horse holding the malware. Users who download it put their computers at risk. Even though it requires a user’s help to activate, it looks so innocuous it is still a risk. There is always a gullible or poorly informed person out there malware makers can take advantage of.
Ross Wilson, Managing Director of consumer products and services in the Asia-Pacific region at Trend Micro, an internet security company, had this to say:
“This is just the beginning of a series of redirections that end in the download of different malicious files to the user’s computer,” he said, adding that users should only visit “established and verifiable news sites” and make sure their Internet security software is up to date.
