Expanding their focus from Black Friday and Cyber Monday
deals, cyber-criminals are also targeting invitations to Thanksgiving dinner,
security researchers warned on Nov. 24.
Users searching for Thanksgiving Day invitations online may
encounter dangerous malware, according to a security alert posted by CyberDefender
Research Labs. The researchers found a "high concentration" of fake anti-virus
products that can steal data from infected computers.
Keyword combinations included "Thanksgiving Lunch
Invitations," "Thanksgiving Invitation Template" and "Thanksgiving Printable
Invitations." Out of 50 search results for each of the three phrases, nearly 20
directed users to infected URLs, according to the alert.
If the user clicks on the link, they are shown a scam page
that claims their computer is infected with malware and should download the
tool to clean up the infection.
Security researchers found Smart Engine, a variant of the
Virus Doctor family, as one of the fake software being downloaded. This Trojan
attempts to prevent genuine anti-virus programs from running, and users are
unable to quarantine and remove the malware from the machine.
For more, read the eWeek article Hackers Target Thanksgiving Day Search Terms: Report.
