Beware the new moon, cybercrims are on the prowl

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 19 November 2009 07:51

Business IT - Security

Security software company, PC Tools, says it has identified a new way cyber criminals are trying to prey on the fans of the Twilight series with anticipation of the upcoming “New Moon” movie, which comes out tomorrow, reaching a fever pitch. 

According to PC Tools, the scheme involving the cybercriminals centres on the author of the best-selling series, Stephanie Meyer, with fans searching for more information about her and the movie apparently coming across a site promising an online interview, but instead, it’s a “Vampire Byte” to suck out your financial information and install malware on your computer.

According to PC Tools, this ‘Vampire Byte’ is just the tip of the iceberg for Twilight fans and “more scams around Twilight will be coming out in the days to come.”

And, if you’re concerned about getting caught up in this scam, here’s how PC Tools says it works:

•    First, a user searches online “Stephanie Meyer” and a result for “Stephanie Meyer at 365Multimedia.com” returns with a description of “Stephanie Meyer interview on Twilight the movie starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart”

•    When clicked on, this link then redirect users to a window informing them that they are infected with malware and they are then advised to download a phony antivirus software product to get rid of the infection.

•    As they download and install the phony antivirus software they are asked for credit card information

•    Malware is then installed on the user’s computer and any financial information entered is sent off to cybercriminals—and no one gets any information about Twilight