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UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET Scam and Malware: "You are wanted for speeding in NY"
"UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET" Scam Email
"New York State ' Department of Motor Vehicle"
Have you received an email with the subject "UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET", telling
you that "New York State ' Department of Motor Vehicle"; with an attachment and
asking you to "PRINT OUT THE ENCLOSED TICKET ANDSEND IT TO TOWN COURT". Of
course, it is a scam and malware. If you click to open the attached file
(typically, it is a zip file), you will open a virus or other malware.
Norton, the anti-virus company defines this sort of attachment as
"malware",
saying on their website:
"Malware is a category of malicious code that includes viruses, worms,
and Trojan horses. Destructive malware will utilize popular communication
tools to spread, including worms sent through email and instant messages,
Trojan horses dropped from web sites, and virus-infected files downloaded
from peer-to-peer connections. Malware will also seek to exploit existing
vulnerabilities on systems making their entry quiet and easy."
Opening the attached file can install a virus or trojan on the user's
computer. Once installed, a virus and destroy your files,
replicate iself, spam your friends and more. A
trojan can send your confidential, personal information to malicious servers and may
download other malware.
The scammers rely on the fact that many recipients may open
the attachment out of simple curiosity or concern. You should
always be very cautious of any unsolicited emails that claim
that a package delivery has failed or been returned. No
legitimate delivery company will send notice of a failed
delivery via an unsolicited email. Especially not with an
attachment.
In addition to the eail adress used below, we have also seen: Candace
Trujillo <theoreticians@gmail.com>,
Beatrice Nieves <swedesxxs7@gmail.com>
and others.
Sample Scam and Malware: UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET Email
On Monday, May 06, 2013, CFR received several versions of the following email:
From: Judson Davidson
[mailto:requisitionsc851@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2013
8:55 PM
Subject: UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET
|
New York State ' Department of Motor Vehicles
UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET
POLICE AGENCY
|
NEW YORK STATE POLICE
|
|
Local Police Code
|
|
|
THE PERSON DESCRIBED ABOVE IS CHARGED
ASFOLLOWS
|
Time
7:25 AM
|
Date of Offense
27/04/2013
|
IN VIOLATION OF
NYS V AND T LAW
|
Description of Violation
SPEED OVER 55 ZONE
TO PLEAD, PRINT OUT THE ENCLOSED TICKET ANDSEND IT TO
TOWN COURT, CHATAM HALL., PO BOX 117
|
Recommendations- What to do:
Do not open the attachment. Delete the email.
And please let us know about any
suspicious calls or emails you receive. We look for patterns so that we
can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!
- Only open email or IM attachments that come from a trusted source
and that are expected
- Use an anti-virus/anti-spam package (we recommend Norton 360 or
Norton Internet Security scan all attachments prior to opening.
Click here to see Norton 360 2013 on Amazon.com .
- Delete the messages without opening any attachments
- Do not click on links in emails that come from people you do not
know and trust, even if it looks like it comes from a company you know.
- Keep your anti-virus software up to date
- Keep your operating system up to date with current security patches.
Click here for an article that describes how to do this.
Definitions: What are viruses, trojans, worms and more?
Malware is a category of malicious software code that includes viruses, worms,
bots, backdoors and
Trojan horses. Malware uses popular communication tools
to spread, including viruses and worms that are sent through email and instant messages, Trojan
horses in email attachments or received when you visit a corrupted website, and virus-infected files downloaded from
file sharing P2P connections.This can be confusing, so here is a simple
breakdown.
See this article from CISCO for a more detailed description.
Viruses
A computer virus propagates itself by inserting a copy of itself onto
your computer. Viruses can range in severity from causing mildly annoying
effects to damaging data files or software. Almost all viruses are attached
to an executable file, which means the virus may be on your computer or in
an email, but will not be active or able to spread until you run it, click
on it, or open the file or attachment.
Worms
Computer worms are similar to viruses in that they reproduce copies of
themselves and can cause the similar damage. But worms are standalone
software and do not require the user to open an attachment (although they
can) - often they take advantage of weaknesses in operating systems to
spread from computer to computer throughout a network (home or company)
Trojans
A Trojan is named after the wooden horse the Greeks used to enter Troy.
It is a harmful file that looks legitimate, such as "Attached is your
invoice. Click here to open it.". Users are typically tricked into loading
and executing it on their systems. After it is activated, it can achieve any
number of attacks on the host, from irritating the user (popping up windows
or changing desktops) to damaging the host (deleting files, stealing data,
or activating and spreading other malware, such as viruses). Trojans are
also known to create back doors to give malicious users access to the
system.
Bots
"Bot" comes from the word "robot" and is an automated process that
interacts with other network services. A typical good use of bots is to
gather information (such as web crawlers), or interact automatically with
instant messaging (IM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), or other web interfaces.
They may also be used to interact dynamically with websites. Bots can be
used for either good or malicious intent. A malicious bot is
self-propagating malware designed to infect a host and connect back to a
central server that may control an entire network of compromised devices, or
"botnet. Bots can include the ability to log keystrokes, gather passwords,
capture and analyze packets, gather financial information, launch DoS
attacks, relay spam, and open back doors on the infected host.
Backdoor
AA back door is an undocumented way of getting into a computer system,
bypassing the normal security logon mechanisms. Some back doors are placed
in the software by the original programmer and others are placed on systems
through a system compromise, such as a virus or worm. Usually, attackers use
back doors for easier and continued access to a system after it has been
compromised. This is commmon when software makes your computer a "zombie".
For a comprehensive list
of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.