Endpoint Protection

The deadly wildfires of southern California have affected thousands of people and destroyed many homes and unfortunately is just adding fuel to the spammers’ fire. In one of the recently observed samples, recipients are informed about the wildfire in the Subject line of the email and a URL is provided that redirects users to an online pharmacy website.

In other spam samples, headlines linked with wildfire are being used either in Subject lines or in the body of the email. The difference is, there is no URL or attachment observed in these samples.

Below are some of the various headlines used in this recent spam run:

Subject: California fire burns, homes destroyed
Subject: Fierce California wildfire burns into fourth night
Subject: More than 30,000 ordered to flee Calif. wildfire
Subject: California Wildfires Roar To Life – Again
Subject: Calif. fire crews hope dry winds take weekend off
Subject: Fire nears Calif. coastal city; 20,000 evacuated
Subject: Marine helicopter crashes in Calif.; 2 killed

We have yet to come across any malicious code embedded in this recent spate of spam emails. However, in the past we have seen spam messages tied to natural disaster in which the spammers claim to have videos of disaster, but the associated link ultimately leads to the user downloading malware or being asked for personal information.

We recommend that users not open any such suspicious emails. We are closely monitoring this spam trend for its spread in other spam categories.