Imagine the thrill of receiving an offer to own an expensive next generation gift for free. Alas, this offer is nothing but a spam message. Though Apple Inc. has yet to officially announce the release date of their upcoming Apple iPhone 4G, spammers have already started campaigns related to this gadget. Symantec has observed a wave of spam emails which claim to give away an Apple iPhone 4G. The email headers are fake and pretend to originate from Apple Inc. The message contains several spelling mistakes. A link is provided in the message which directs users to a spam page which asks for the user’s email address. The spam page is hosted using a URL-shortening service. Symantec has observed other messages which are similar but target another Apple product, the iPad. The only difference is in the line that says “We just got the brand new Apple iPad! Take a look” Below is example of spam message: The offer claims that users can test and keep an iPhone. Needless to say, this is a plot for harvesting users’ email addresses. Below is screenshot of the webpage: However much you want to own a gadget like the iPhone or iPad, don’t get lured in by fake offers like this one. Symantec recommends having anti-spam and antivirus solutions installed and kept up to date to prevent compromising personal information. We at Symantec have 24x7 coverage to spot the trends and to fight back and keep our readers updated. Note: Thanks to Gautham Govind for his content contribution.