Cybercrime has moved on from the spotty teenage hacker to a sophisticated operation. Here are some tips to keep your mailbox spam-free

More and more people are falling victim to e-mail frauds. Recently, a well-known editor of a Marathi daily almost lost his e-mail account to hackers. The fraudsters sent mails from his account to his friends and acquaintances asking for money. Fortunately, they (the friends!) phoned him and found out that it was a hoax perpetrated by cyber-criminals, saving him much embarrassment.

Even as I was writing this article, I received an alert about a new malicious fraud mail with the subject line ‘Google job application response’. This message is so well-written and believable that it has probably been scraped from actual Google job application responses. Typically, spam mails are full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that flag them as fakes to discerning Netizens. The text of the fake Google mail, however, has no such mistakes, making it much more believable—especially if the recipient has, indeed, applied for a job with Google. The cause for alarm is that the mail comes with an insidious attachment, called CV-20100120-112.zip, which contains a malicious payload. If you receive any such mail, delete it ASAP.

Another incident of a fraudulent e-mail that came to my attention was from spammers who wanted me to download an important update from Microsoft via e-mail! This message also looks so genuine that unsuspecting users may not hesitate to click on the link that will install a malware file named ‘update2010.scr’ on their system.

According to a recent Websense report, 86.8% of the e-mails sent out globally in December 2009 were spam. An even more frightening finding was that 91% of the spam mails included an embedded URL. “A new wave of scams has emerged using a combination of legitimately bought advertising space, false news stories and the lure of job opportunities with well-known companies. This aggressive campaign, which preys on a population weakened by the economic downturn, demonstrates how cybercrime has moved on from the spotty teenage hacker in his bedroom to a sophisticated business run with all the trimmings,” said Carl Leonard, senior manager, Websense Security Labs.

Why are e-mail frauds on the rise? It is simple arithmetic. The cost of sending a spam mail to around 50 million e-mail IDs is often less than $500. So, even if a single user bites the bait and loses $501, the phisher breaks even.

How can you protect yourself from e-mail frauds? Here are some basic steps you can follow.

1. Do not forward any bulk mail that you receive, even if it is ostensibly from your friends or colleagues.

2. Whenever someone sends you a mail with an offer similar to the infamous ‘Microsoft paying you’ message, the first question you should ask yourself is: Why would someone want to give away money just like that? And then, of course, you should delete the mail instantly.

3. A lot of mails that claim some miracle or chamatkar are floating around in cyberspace. Such mails typically urge you to forward them to 10 or 20 people and see the ‘miracle’ happening or else suffer a serious and unspeakable consequence. I came across a rational response to ‘miracle’ mails and would like to quote it here, “Maybe for some, that’s the only dose of religion they want for the day—to pass on some sappy story, and a silly angel that’s supposed to multiply every time it’s forwarded. I guess I should have more patience with them; but after having seen actual miracles, I’m just wearied by empty promises of nothing but spiritual garbage.”

4. Never give away your personal information by clicking on any link in a mail. Even if you are confident that the mail is from a genuine party, instead of clicking on the link in the mail, type the URL manually in a new browser window/tab. As far as I know, no bank asks you to verify your account number or password by sending an e-mail.

‘Prevention is better than cure’ is a cliché that’s well worth following in cyberspace. A judicious dose of scepticism can go a long way in keeping your mailbox spam-free.