Redirected message pretending to come from Birmingham mail <[email protected]> is another one from the current zbot runs which try to drop cryptolocker, ransomware and loads of other malware on your computer. They are using email addresses and subjects that will entice a user to read the email and open the attachment. A very high proportion are being targeted at small and medium size businesses, with the hope of getting a better response than they do from consumers.
Almost all of these have a password stealing component, with the aim of stealing your email or FTP ( web space) log in credentials. Many of them are also designed to specifically steal your facebook and other social network log in details.
Please read our How to protect yourselves page for simple, sensible advice on how to avoid being infected by this sort of socially engineered malware.
Update 24 July 2014: a new version of the malware on this email this morning. todays email pretends to come from Tyrell Hoffman at Birmingham Mail . Birminghammail <[email protected]> or from Madge Good at Birminghammail <[email protected]> As the day goes on, I am, sure we will see the email addresses from loads of other employees at Birmingham mail being spoofed by this bot
Dear [email protected]!
Please find attached the original letter received by our system.
23 July 2014: 1.zip(80 kb) extracts to original_letter_234389_193.scr.exe Current Virus total detections: 5/53
23 July 2014: letter_689163.zip (65 kb) extracts to original_letter_234389_193.exe Current Virus total detections: 0/51
This Redirected message is another one of the spoofed icon files that unless you have “show known file extensions enabled“, will look like an innocent picture image file instead of the .exe file it really is, so making it much more likely for you to accidentally open it and be infected.
All of these emails use Social engineering tricks to persuade you to open the attachments that come with the email. Whether it is a message saying “look at this picture of me I took last night” and it appears to come from a friend or is more targeted at somebody who regularly is likely to receive PDF attachments or Word .doc attachments or any other common file that you use every day.
Be very careful when unzipping them and make sure you have “show known file extensions enabled“, And then look carefully at the unzipped file. If it says .EXE then it is a problem and should not be run or opened.