Not so friendly skies
- TAGS:.exe, airline ticket, e-mail, scam
- IT TOPICS:Security
I don’t remember hearing about this over the summer, but apparently, an airline-ticket e-mail scam seen just last July is back. In this spam attack, the recipient receives a bogus email that looks like it originates from an airline (in this case, Continental Airlines). The email indicates that the attached .zip file contains the recipient’s ticket as well as an invoice for over $900.
Lo and behold only savvy recipients will notice that the attachment is a ".doc.exe" executable file. Hapless recipients on the other hand, may feel compelled to open the attachment to get to the bottom of the obvious mistake and get the charge(s) on their credit card reversed. Doing so will unleash a worm that’ll install some nasty attack code to their PCs.
With Thanksgiving traveling plans on the rise, users could think it’s feasible and inclined to believe they’ve been inadvertently charged for a flight they didn’t book. It’s bad enough this stuff can get past some security and into email boxes; recipients have to resist the temptation to click on those .exe attachments.
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