You just receive an e-Card from a friend - !Virus alert! (Part 1)
In our business we often receive thank you notes from clients, vendors and business associates. So receiving an e-mail announcing that you have an E-Card message is not unusual. It’s not unusual, but it could be dangerous to open.
The E-Card virus / trojan has reared it’s ugly little head again. What looks like an innocent thank you message can cause you and your trusted PC a lot of pain.
I received this one today.
Notice it is short and to the point. I do not recognize the email address or the domain name it comes from. I am sure it is not really from that domain name. The message is trying to spark my curiosity to get me to click on the unknown link.
This is not a new problem. It reappears every holiday, especially Valentine’s Day.
What does the E-Card virus do? Most of the time it will put a nasty program on your PC that starts emailing fake messages to everyone on your contact lists. It spreads the virus.
The culprits that sent the email would like recipients to believe that these E-Cards come from a legitimate sender; the From line, which is spoofed, is displaying the name of a reputable company. Many times, the mail body bears the phrase “no worm, no virus” to falsely calm users’ fears of infection. But, since the sender is trying to trick you, users do get infected.
Here a few rules to use.
If it’s a legitimate E-Card it will show the name of the person who sent it. Legitimate greeting card companies never use generic names.
Here are some examples of fake E-Cards titles.
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a neighbor!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a neighbour!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a partner!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a school friend!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a school mate!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a school-mate!
You’ve received a greeting ecard from a worshipper!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a admirer!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a class mate!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a class-mate!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a colleague!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a family member!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a friend!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a mate!
You’ve received a greeting postcard from a neighbor!
If an IP address is used instead of the domain name.
Hxxp://00.000.0.000
Don’t be fooled by the use of a real greeting card company name. Anyone can type the name.
At Snopes.com they have this page about the E-Card Trojan.
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp
In the 2nd part of the post I will give you some tips on what to do to protect your PC and what to do if your system has been infected (before you decide to take it in for a doctors visit that could cost you a bundle).
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