January 17, 2006
Quentin Reade
An anti-virus company has blocked thousands of spam emails that claim people are in line to receive money from a jailed Russian oil tycoon. The emails, which claim to come from the personal secretary of billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, offer almost £5.7m if the email recipient will assist in the transfer of approximately £26m of Khodorkovsky's fortune.
Khodorkovsky, who was the CEO of Russian oil company Yukos, was arrested at gunpoint at a Siberian airfield in 2003, and is serving an eight-year prison sentence on tax and fraud charges.
Experts at virus, spyware and spam analysis company Sophos say they have stopped thousands of the emails as they are nothing more than a ruse to steal personal details with a view to steal money from bank accounts and commit identity fraud.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said: "Originally we saw the scammers sending their messages about Khodorkovsky in Russian, but now they are spreading their wings and sending their scam emails all around the world in English. The notoriety of the case against the Yukos CEO has made his fame a prime target for exploitation by internet criminals.
"Email users should be on their guard not to believe everything they receive via email, and ensure their spam defences are kept up-to-date."
http://www.sophos.com
Topic: New email scam in the pipeline (Read 967 times)