Spam Messages Relating to Mother’s Day Increasing

Spam messages relating to Mother’s Day on May 12 have begun flowing into the Symantec Probe Network. Clicking the URL contained in the spam message automatically redirects the recipient to a website containing a bogus Mother’s Day offer upon completion of a fake survey.

Figure 1: Survey spam targeting Mother’s Day

Once the survey is completed, a page is then displayed asking the user to enter their personal information to receive the bogus offer.

Figure 2: Fake survey

Figure 3: Bogus web page asking for personal information

Symantec recently blogged about the persistence of spam with .pw URLs and not surprisingly many of the Mother’s Day spam messages contain it. The following are some examples of the ‘From’ header using .pw URLs that we have identified to-date:

• From: Mother’s Day Gifts

• From: "Early Bird Mother’s Day Flowers"

• From: "Early Bird Mother’s Day Bouquets"

• From: "Mother’s Day Bouquets"

• From: “Mom”

•  

Figure 4: Another dodgy website related to Mother’s Day

Symantec is observing an increase in spam volume relating to Mother’s Day, which can be seen in the following graph.

Figure 5: Volume of Mother’s Day spam

The following are some of the subject lines observed for these spam attacks:

• Subject: Don’t Forget Mother’s Day - $19.99 Chocolate, Dipped Strawberries

• Subject: Stunning Personalized Gifts for Mother’s Day

• Subject: Top Personalized Mother's Day Gifts

• Subject: Make Mother’s Day Special With A Personalized Gift

• Subject: Mother's Day Car Deal (Half Off Every Make And Model)

• Subject: Regarding Mother’s Day

• Subject: Celebrate Mom with a $19.99 bouquet

• Subject: Mother's Day Replica’s Women's Accessories

• Subject: Mother's Day Secret Formula

Symantec advises people to use caution when receiving unsolicited or unexpected emails. It is closely monitoring Mother’s Day spam attacks to ensure that internet users are up-to-date with information on the latest threats.

ENDS

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