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BitTorrent Users Are The Targets In New Anti-Piracy Scam Emails Spam

Spammers are now targeting BitTorrent users and have sent out millions of emails that claim to come from MediaDefender. The fake emails warn the receiver that he or she has been logged using BitTorrent and points them to an attachment supposedly containing evidence which is in fact a virus.

The e-mail looks like it comes from Los Angeles-based MediaDefender (using their logo), the Hollywood’s company that is hired to fight online piracy by harassing and suing heavy downloaders/uploaders of copyrighted content. The e-mail is sent out at random, victimizing the unsuspecting users who might get scared and open the infected attachment that supposedly contains more details about the infringed material.

It has been getting a lot of people’s attention because millions of people use BitTorrent trackers to download free games, music and movies. The e-mail says:

We have attached a report about the copyrighted movies, music, software you
downloaded or searched on these web pages. We strongly advise you to stop any
future activities regarding the downloading of illegal content or you can
expect prosecution by 17 U.S.C. §§ 512, 1201?1205, 1301?1332; 28 U.S.C. §
4001 laws.

The attachemnt contains mytob worm (W32.Mytob@mm) that installs a trojan, and allows outsiders to gain access to victim’s computer. Systems affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

Such scams can be avoided easily when a few simple rules are followed, but thousands of novices are tricked into opening the infected attachment daily. BitTorrent has become very popular among millions of users worldwide and as any other large group of users, they become an interesting target for email spammers.

Posted in BitTorrent, Malware, Scams, Spam |  Print This Post