Security news
Security news8 May 2007
General Pinochet's grandson latest lure used by email scammers Pinochet emails should be taken with a pinch of salt, advises Sophos
Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, has reminded computer users of the danger of email scams following an attempted financial fraud which posed as a communication from the grandson of the late General Pinochet, former military dictator of Chile.
The emails, which arrive with the subject line "President of chile who died" claim to be sent by Captain Augusto Pinochet Molina, who was discharged from the Chilean army after making an unauthorized speech at his grandfather's burial in December 2006.
According to the emails, Captain Pinochet is seeking help to hide his family's fortunes from the authorities. The email includes a web link to a BBC News story about General Pinochet's funeral in an attempt to add credibility to the story.
The email claims to come from the grandson of General Pinochet.
"Millions of scam emails like this are being sent to internet users every day, and it's hard to believe that anyone falls for these confidence tricks. But sadly innocent people do put their finances in danger by corresponding with scammers such as this, and everyone with an email address should be on their guard," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "It's time everybody learned not to believe everything they receive via email, but to take messages such as this with a pinch of salt."
Sophos notes that elements of the email are factually accurate.
"General Pinochet did die in December 2006, and his grandson was dismissed from the army after an incident at the funeral, but that doesn't mean that people should believe everything else in the email and hand over personal information," continued Cluley. "The best liars sprinkle their tales with truths to fool people into believing them. Internet users need to wise up to these kinds of tricks to prevent themselves from being suckered in and having their identity, and potentially finances, stolen."
This email con-trick is the latest of many 419 scams. These scams are named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal code where many of the scams originated and are unsolicited emails where the author offers a large amount of money. Once a victim has been drawn in, requests are made from the fraudster for private information which may lead to requests for money, stolen identities, and financial theft.
Other examples of 419 email scams include a message claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir spacestation.
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About Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises all over the world to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Sophos's network access control, endpoint, web and email solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, Sophos protects over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with its reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for its high level of customer satisfaction and powerful yet easy-to-use solutions, Sophos has received many industry awards, as well as positive reviews and certifications.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com
