What Now…..This is getting old fast!!!

Are you a Verizon Wireless customer?  Well if you are, then pay special attention.  There is a new scam in the wild right now that is targeting Verizon Wireless customers directly.  It is estimated that about 16% of all Verizon Wireless customers have come into contact with this scam.  This is how it works.

You will receive an email, which appears to be from Verizon Wireless, which states that you have exceeded the minutes limit on your account and asks you to check your account by downloading a “balance checker” tool.  Keep in mind that this message looks exactly like a legitimate Verizon message.  But it is not from Verizon Wireless. If you should download and run the tool, what you are in fact doing, is installing a Trojan Horse. By installing this Trojan Horse, you open up your computer to a myriad of other malware from the Zbot Botnet.  This Bot is notorious for lifting banking and credit information from User’s accounts.  So as you can see, this is a serious threat.

The first emails were sent around 11:30 AM Pacific Time on Friday, 11/13/09.  Friday the 13th’s are always notorious for the launch of new scams on the internet.  Since then, it has been estimated that about 200,000 messages have been sent per hour.  So this scam is already well established.

So how do I know if the Verizon Wireless message is legit? and what should I do if I do receive this message?  First off, and I have stated this many times before in past posts, do not EVER open a message that states that there is a problem with your account from an email that you receive without having asked for the information prior to receiving the message.  Even then, I would be real cautious.  The best way to keep yourself from falling for these scams, is to never open an email from anyone, even if you have an account with them, that states that there is a problem with your account.  Instead, go to the company’s website, in this case Verizon Wireless’, and log into your account.  From there, you can check to see if there is anything that needs your attention.  As always, make sure that you log in over SSL, meaning that the URL starts with ‘https://” and not “http://”.  I cannot say this strongly enough……never, ever open a link in which the email states that there is a problem with your account.  These are almost always scams as companies do not alert you of problems in this manner.  Always, manually log into your account and check it once you are securely logged into your account.

This new Verizon Wireless scam will render your computer useless, should you fall for it, and believe me, it is easy to do.  These scammers know what they are doing and create fake sites, and messages that look exactly like one that you would receive from Verizon Wireless, complete with logo.  They are easy to fall for.  Knowing the basics is all you need though to ensure your safety. Always delete those emails alerting you to account problems and log into your account from the vendors website and check to see if the message is valid from there.  Never click on any link that was sent to you without you asking for it. It is that simple.

For more information, check out the Trend Micro Security Blog Site.

Watch out for this scam as it is a serious one and is easy to fall for.

Let me know your thoughts……