Scamworld: 'Get rich quick' schemes mutate into an online monster

Here's a long and very detailed article from The Verge on how the current crop of get-rich-quick schemes on the Internet work. If it's a case of tl;dr then you can get a flavour of it from this video:

Fake job and credit check sites to avoid

A little cluster of spam/scam sites on 95.142.173.176, running a scam related to this one. Avoid.

creditdealmanagement.com
creditlevelreport.com
hotdealsmanagement.com
hotoffermanagement.com
rockingdealmanagement.com
rockingdealmanagements.com
rockingoffermanagement.com
rockingscoremanagement.com
tql-billing.com

The WHOIS details are as follows:
creditdealmanagement.com
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 88-44
  Warszawa
  Warszawa,
  PL
  00545
  name:(Sophie Ellis)
  mail:(admin@creditdealmanagement.com)
  +022.8260898
  +022.8260898
  Hot Date

creditlevelreport.com
   NA
   Torrie Ots admin@creditlevelreport.com
   +14122666060 fax: +14122666060
   123 6th Street
   Pittsburgh PA 64213
   us

hotdealsmanagement.com
  name:(Sophie Ellis)
  Email:(admin@creditdealmanagement.com)
  tel-- +022.8260898  
  fax:(+022.8260898)
  Hot Date
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 88-44
  Warszawa
  Warszawa,
  PL
  zipcode:00545

hotoffermanagement.com
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 88-44
  Warszawa
  Warszawa,
  PL
  00545
  name:(Sophie Ellis)
  mail:(admin@creditdealmanagement.com)
  +022.8260898
  +022.8260898
  Hot Date

rockingdealmanagement.com
  name:(Niko Irlung)
  Email:(admin@rockingoffermanagement.com)
  tel-- +022.4860345
  fax:(+022.4860345)
  Rockinig
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 54C
  Warszawa
  Warszawa,
  PL
  zipcode:00541

rockingdealmanagements.com
   NA
   Yawn Paul admin@rockingscoremanagement.com
   +14122821060 fax: +14122821060
   34G W C Jobs
   Pittsburgh PA 64421
   us

rockingoffermanagement.com
  Niko Irlung admin@rockingoffermanagement.com
  +022.4860345
  +022.4860345
  Rockinig
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 54C
  Warszawa,
  Warszawa,
  PL 00541

rockingscoremanagement.com
   NA
   Yawn Paul admin@rockingscoremanagement.com
   +14122821060 fax: +14122821060
   34G W C Jobs
   Pittsburgh PA 64421
   us

tql-billing.com
  Aleje Ujazdowskie 87-44
  Warszawa
  Warszawa,
  PL
  00540
  name:(Dill Nilson)
  mail:(admin@tql-billing.com)
 +022.8277528
 +022.8277528    TQL

Something evil on 50.30.47.81

There are a bunch of sites on 50.30.47.81 (Hosting Solutions International, Inc., US) being used to serve Java exploits via injection attacks. Probably worth blocking this one (obviously, don't visit these sites)..

www.gredsa.in
www.bbadkf.in
www.bernitto.in
www.hfsless.in
www.burness.in

Something odd

One of those odd things you see in proxy logs.. in this case, a load of outbound access attempts from guest machine like this:

http://69.60.122.18269.60.122.182/
http://85.25.130.1285.25.130.12/
http://89.207.129.789.207.129.7/
http://91.230.147.23191.230.147.231/
http://174.37.202.166174.37.202.166/
http://184.22.165.50184.22.165.50/
http://204.45.70.162204.45.70.162/
http://207.244.209.239207.244.209.239/
http://209.85.148.101209.85.148.101/

Obviously, these URLs are malformed because the IP address is listed twice. But one of these stands out:

http://91.230.147.23191.230.147.231/ is clearly "91.230.147.231" twice. This IP belongs to Adevir Invest in Russia, and we've seen that name before. The other IPs seem innocent enough, but this traffic pattern is highly suspicious and I can only assume that these IPs are some sort of C&C server.

If you want to block the correctly formed IPs then they are as follows:

69.60.122.18
85.25.130.12
89.207.129.7
91.230.147.231
174.37.202.166
184.22.165.50
204.45.70.162
207.244.209.239
209.85.148.10

Fake job offer: HRT F1 TEAM

The HRT F1 Team is a real team engaged in motor racing. This email is not from the HRT F1 Team.

Date:      Sat, 5 May 2012 16:43:33 +0300
From:      "Rebecca Hoffmeister / HRT F1 TEAM" [gormon.82@digiton.ru]
Subject:      Job Offer - Payment Department

Hello !


We are a first-rate company specializing in the implementation of accessories for cars. Apart from this primary mission, we also provide full support to our clients during all stages of the purchase of our product, from the resolution of the contract to the payment and delivery of the product to the customer. To that end, the subdivisions of our company form a quite large network.

At the present time, there is one position open in our company as an agent in the department of payment control. The first month of work will be probationary and will include training programs on corporate ethics and also the basics of inspection and control of payment between parties in a transaction.

We guarantee:
- A suitable wage

- We guarantee you sufficient money to be added to your main salary, provided you have a wish to work hard and to follow all our instructions on time

- Benefits package
- Free training

Our requirements for candidates:
- Punctual and diligent fulfillment of directions from the manager
- Ability to effectively organize work time

- Process work requests necessary to maintain an effective payments transfer program

- Close access to the infrastructure of our city
- Uphold a high level of integrity and ethics
- Good time management skills


If you are interested in this position, send us a short resume by e-mail: hrtf1team@juno.com

Rebecca Hoffmeister - Payment Manager
HRT F1 TEAM

Instead this is a money mule (money laundering) operation which will end up with serious trouble with the police and your bank. Avoid.

USPS Spam / computerpills.net

This fake USPS spam leads to malware on computerpills.net:

Date:      Fri, 4 May 2012 08:50:52 -0500
From:      "Cathryn Small" [USPS_Shipping_Support@usps.com]
Subject:      Your USPS shipment postage labels receipt.


Acct #: 0443907

Dear client:

This is an email confirmation for your order of 3 online shipping label(s) with postage. Your credit card will be charged the following amount:

Transaction ID: #1537194
Print Date/Time: 03/15/2012 02:30 PM CST
Postage Amount: $43.70
Credit Card Number: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Priority Mail Regional Rate Box B # 5153 9371 4727 8289 2238 (Sequence Number 1 of 1)

   

If you need further information, please log on to www.usps.com/clicknship and go to your Shipping History or visit our Frequently Asked Questions .

You can refund your unused postage labels up to 14 days after the issue date by logging on to your Click-N-Ship Account.

Thank you for choosing the United States Postal Service

Click-N-Ship: The Online Shipping Solution

Click-N-Ship has just made on line shipping with the USPS even better.

New Enhanced International Label and Customs Form: Updated Look and Easy to Use!

* * * * * * * *

This is a post-only message

The malicious payload is an exploit kit at computerpills.net/main.php?page=beb0bb4c8ebd96e5 hosted on 37.59.68.23 (OVH, UK) which is the same server used in this attack, the payload looks to be the same as the one used in this other attack, with a very low detection rate at VirusTotal of just 3/42.

LinkedIn spam / 184.154.220.226

This fake LinkedIn spam leads to malware on 184.154.220.226:

Date:      Fri, 4 May 2012 -04:52:32 -0800
From:      LinkedIn Password [password@linkedin.com]
Subject:      Reset Your LinkedIn Password

LinkedIn

Hi hippy,

Can’t remember your LinkedIn password? No problem - it happens.

Please use this link to reset your password within the next 1 day:
Click here

Then sign in to LinkedIn with your new password and the email address where you received this message.

Thanks for using LinkedIn!

The malware is hosted on 184.154.220.226/showthread.php?t=34c79594e8b8ac0f (Singlehop, US) which is a very heavily obfuscated exploit page with a not very impressive VirusTotal detection rate of 2/42. Blocking the IP is a good proactive step to stop this from being a problem.

Xvideos.com IP hosting malware C&C servers

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

How to access The Pirate Bay on Virgin Media

I don't approve of pirating copyrighted material, but I also don't approve of censorship.On balance I think that censorship is the worst of the two, so I was quite annoyed to find that Virgin Media is censoring the Pirate Bay.

Sorry, the web page you have requested is not available through Virgin Media.

Virgin Media has received an order from the Courts requiring us to prevent access to this site in order to help protect against copyright infringement.

If you are a Virgin Media home broadband customer, for more information on why certain web pages are blocked, please click here.

If you are a Virgin Media Business customer, or are trying to view this page through your company's internet connection, please click here.

It isn't Virgin Media's fault (they have a shedload of their own, this is not one of them), but something they've been obliged to do through the courts.

Here's a newsflash. Not everything listed on the Pirate Bay is actually subject to copyright. As with many things, it's what you do with a tool like the Pirate Bay that counts. So, let's say that you have a legitimate use for looking at the Pirate Bay and you're a Virgin Media customer (or another UK ISP that has blocked TPB).. how do you do it?

Well, there's a mirror of The Pirate Bay hosted on the same IP address and domain as the UK's Pirate Party at https://tpb.pirateparty.org.uk/. Not many people know that all UK political parties have to be registered at the Electoral Commission, and the Pirate Party is indeed a properly registered political party (click to enlarge)..

Although the technology employed by Virgin Media is perfectly capable of blocking part of a website and leaving the rest accessible, it's quite possible that censoring part of a website belonging to a legally constituted political party might just be a step too far..

Samsung Galaxy S III

I think it's fair to say.. that this is a very, very nice device indeed. Quad-core CPU, Android 4.0, a big HD screen and lots of goodies that will distract you from the (presumably) wallet emptying price. Yes.. it's the Samsung Galaxy S III which is probably the second most anticipated device of the year after the iPhone 5!

[Via]

Facebook spam / chicleart.net

These fake Facebook messages lead to malware on chicleart.net:

Date:      Thu, 3 May 2012 11:57:48 -0300
From:      "Facebook" [noreply@facebookmail.com]
Subject:      Most recent events on Facebook

facebook   
Hi xxxxxxxxxx,
You have blocked your Facebook account. You can reactivate your account whenever you wish by logging into Facebook using your old login email address and password. Subsequently you will be able to use the site as before.
Thanks and regards,
The Facebook Team
   
Sign in to Facebook and start connecting
Sign in

follow the link below :
http://www.facebook.com/home.php
This message was sent to xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please click: unsubscribe.
Facebook, Inc. Attention: Department 415 P.O Box 10005 Palo Alto CA 94303

==================

Date:      Thu, 3 May 2012 15:53:38 +0100
From:      "Facebook" [noreply@facebookmail.com]
Subject:      New comment on your status update

facebook   
Hi xxxxxxxxxx,
You have blocked your Facebook account. You can resume your account at any time by logging into Facebook with your old login email address and password. You will then be able to use the site as before.
Thanks and regards,
The Facebook Team
   
Sign in to Facebook and start connecting
Sign in

follow the link below :
http://www.facebook.com/home.php
This message was sent to xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please click: unsubscribe.
Facebook, Inc. Attention: Department 415 P.O Box 10005 Palo Alto CA 94303

==================

Date:      Thu, 3 May 2012 14:09:11 +0000
From:      "Facebook" [alert@facebookmail.com]
Subject:      New comment on your status update

facebook   
Hi xxxxxxxxxx,
You have deactivated your Facebook account. You can reactivate your account whenever you wish by logging into Facebook using your old login email address and password. Subsequently you will be able to use the site in the same way as before.
Best regards,
The Facebook Team
   
Sign in to Facebook and start connecting
Sign in

follow the link below :
http://www.facebook.com/home.php
This message was sent to xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please click: unsubscribe.
Facebook, Inc. Attention: Department 415 P.O Box 10005 Palo Alto CA 94303

The malicious payload is on chicleart.net/main.php?page=8decfe38488713cc on 37.59.68.23 hosted by OVH in the UK.

tsnet-china.com / "Klver Industrial Co. Ltd" domain scam.

This domain scam has been around for years..

From:     jeff jeff@tsnet-china.com
To:   
Date:     3 May 2012 10:02
Subject:     Regarding " dynamoo " Dispute

(If you are not in charge of this please transfer this email to your President or appropriate person, thanks)

Dear President,

We are the department of Asian Domain registration service in china, have something to confirm with you. We formally received an application on May 2, 2012. One company which self-styled "Klver Industrial Co. Ltd" were applying to register "dynamoo" as Network Brand and following domain names:

 dynamoo.asia 
 dynamoo.cn 
 dynamoo.com.cn 
 dynamoo.com.tw 
 dynamoo.hk 
 dynamoo.in 
 dynamoo.net.cn 
 dynamoo.org.cn 
 dynamoo.tw

After our initial checking, we found the name were similar to your company's, so we need to check with you whether your company has authorized that company to register these names. If you authorized this, we will finish the registration at once. If you did not authorize, please let us know within 7 workdays, so that we will handle this issue better. Out of the time limit we will unconditionally finish the registration for "Klver Industrial Co. Ltd".

Best Regards,
                                   
Jeff  Yang
Registration Dept.

Tel: +862885915586  ||  Fax: +862885912116
Address:8/F XiYu building No,52 JinDun Road,QingYang District,Chengdu City,China.

The idea here is to panic the domain owner into registering a bunch of worthless domains. Do I really care if someone registers a bunch of Asian domain names (sub of which are on really crappy second level domains)? No, I don't. And neither should you.

Here's the thing: domain registrars for common domains* like this DO NOT carry out these checks. It isn't their responsibility. In reality, they will NOT contact you prior to registration. There is almost definitely no company interested in buying these domains. And remember, there are hundreds of top-level domains.. you could spend a LOT of money securing worthless variations for no reason.

Give this one a wide berth. If you really do want to find a registrar for additional domains, shop around to find a reliable and inexpensive registrar rather than dealing with spammers.

* some "sunrise" registrations for new top-level domains do check trademark ownership when they are launched.

Isn't it amazing..

Isn't it amazing how everything sometimes comes together. I came across this particularly well researched article at a blog called Cultivated Drivel.

Sometimes people make those connections that you should have seen your case. In this case, the post managed to link together several strands of my own blog that I hadn't managed to do myself.. namely: Inter Financial Ltd, Gary NcNeish and Piradius.net

It looks like Mr McNeish might have his fingers in quite a few spam pies..

"Invitation FACEBOOK" hoax

There are a lot of genuine malware-laden fake Facebook emails about, but this one is a hoax.. and a very old one at that, going all the way back to the 1990s in one form or another.

Subject: Fwd: FW: PLEASE CIRCULATE

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS NOTICE TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY ON YOUR CONTACT LIST

In the coming days, you should be aware…

Do not open any message with an attachment called:

"Invitation FACEBOOK"

Regardless of who sent it

It is a virus that opens an Olympic torch and burns the whole hard
disc C of your computer

This virus will be received from someone you have in your address book


That's why you should send this message to all your contacts.  It is
better to receive this email 25 times than to receive the virus and
open it

If you receive email called: "Invitation FACEBOOK", though sent by a friend,

do not open but delete it immediately

CNN said it is a new virus discovered recently and that has been
classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever

It is a Trojan Horse that asks you to install an adobe flash plug-in.
Once you install it, it's all over. And there is no repair yet for
this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the
Hard Disc, where the vital information of their function is saved



THE INFORMATION HAS BEEN CHECKED WITH SNOPES
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/youtube.asp

DO exercise caution with emails that appear to be from Facebook, PayPal, LinkedIn or any one of a variety of services.. you can usually check the true destination of a link in an email by floating the pointer over it. DON'T circulate silly hoaxes like this because it simply wastes everybody's time.

PayPal Spam / 72.46.140.14

This fake PayPal spam leads to malware on 72.46.140.14:

Date:      Tue, 1 May 2012 14:31:26 +0300
From:      "PayPal" [notify@paypal.com]
Subject:      RE:You just sent a payment to Enrique Peterson

   
You just sent a payment
    Transaction ID: 2SM69324P0770102B
Hello xxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Thanks for using PayPal. It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.
Merchant
Enrique Peterson
wcEnrique22@hotmail.com
    Note to Thad Peterson
You haven't sent a note.
Shipping address - confirmed
Michael Pepe
P.O. Box 173
Cheektowaga, NY�14225
United States
Total     $140.00 USD
Payment     $60.00 USD
Payment sent to Enrique Peterson

   
Help Centre | Resolution Centre | Security Centre

This email was sent by an automated system, so if you reply, nobody will see it. To get in touch with us, log in to your account and click "Contact Us" at the bottom of any page.
Copyright � 2012 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

PayPal Email ID PP1526

The malicious payload is on 72.46.140.14/showthread.php?t=9d77a9163cda8dbe (report here) and is hosted by Versaweb in the US, suballocated to "Silver Knight Enterprises Corp" of Las Vegas.

Update: here is another variant

Date:      Tue, 1 May 2012 19:54:34 +0700
From:      "PayPal" [notify@paypal.com]
Subject:      RE:You just sent a payment to Jame Peterson


   
You just sent a payment
    Transaction ID: 2SM69324P0770102B
Hello xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Thanks for using PayPal. It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.
Merchant
Jame Peterson
wcJame22@hotmail.com
    Note to Thad Peterson
You haven't sent a note.
Shipping address - confirmed
Michael Pepe
P.O. Box 173
Cheektowaga, NY�14225
United States
Total     $100.00 USD
Payment     $60.00 USD
Payment sent to Jame Peterson

   
Help Centre | Resolution Centre | Security Centre

This email was sent by an automated system, so if you reply, nobody will see it. To get in touch with us, log in to your account and click "Contact Us" at the bottom of any page.
Copyright � 2012 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

PayPal Email ID PP1526

LinkedIn spam / 74.91.120.210

This fake LinkedIn spam leads to malware on 74.91.120.210:

Date:      Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:51:37 +0530
From:      "LinkedIn reminder" [reminder@linkedin.com]
Subject:      LInkedin pending messages

LinkedIn
REMINDERS

Invitation reminders:
• From Scott Burwell (Colleague at Nortel)


PENDING MESSAGES

• There are a total of 36 messages awaiting your response. Visit your InBox now.

Don't want to receive email notifications? Adjust your message settings.

LinkedIn values your privacy. At no time has LinkedIn made your email address available to any other LinkedIn user without your permission. © 2010, LinkedIn Corporation.

The malicious payload is at 74.91.120.210/showthread.php?t=9d77a9163cda8dbe (report here) hosted by Nuclearfallout Enterprises in the US.

91.121.84.204 / 64.244.61.40 malware

There's a spam run this morning (probably one of the familiar LinkedIn / Printer / CareerBuilder / Pizza / etc spams) that is trying to direct users to a malicious payload on 91.121.84.204:8080/showthread.php?t=34c79594e8b8ac0f (OVH, France. Wepawet report here) that then also tries to download an additional malware component from 64.244.61.40/rUPYeVt0.exe (cheekyshare.com, US).

Blocking access to these IPs would be prudent.

"Amazon.com Password Assistance" spam / healthcarewelbizness.com

The fake pill pushers are getting inventing, this spam leads to a fake pharma site on healthcarewelbizness.com :

Date:      Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:47:10 +0000 (UTC)
From:      "Amazon.com" [account-update@amazone.com]
Subject:      Amazon.com Password Assistance

We received a request to reset the password associated with this e-mail address. Please follow the instructions below.

Click the link below to complete or cancel request using our secure server:

https://www.amazon.com/ap/forgotpassword?arb=cf4c17ba-4659-06c6-ff0f-58f6e8b50a66

If clicking the link doesn't seem to work, you can copy and paste the link into your browser's address window, or retype it there.

Amazon.com will never e-mail you and ask you to disclose or verify your Amazon.com password, credit card, or banking account number. Thanks for visiting Amazon.com!

healthcarewelbizness.com is hosted on 46.183.216.215 (Dataclub, Latvia) along with a whole load of other toxic websites that are best avoided.

"New message from.." spam / 74.91.114.83

Another variation in the never-ending malicious spam campaign that has been going on for months, leading to malware on 74.91.114.83.

Date:      Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:13:47 -0300
From:      KristineLippitt@hotmail.com
Subject:      New message from KYLIE NIX

   
KYLIE NIX     3:01am April 27
Hello!

...

Click here to view full message


View Conversation on Facebook ?� Reply to this email to message KYLIE NIX.

The payload is on 74.91.114.83/showthread.php?t=34c79594e8b8ac0f (report here) hosted by TurkTelecom in Turkey.

CareerBuilder spam / popcows.net

These fake CareerBuilder messages attempt to download malware from popcows.net via a legitimate hacked site.

Date:      Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:58:00 -0300
From:      Risa@site.careerbuilder.com
Subject:      You might be interested in this vacant position.


Hello,

I am a customer service representative at CareerBuilder. I found a vacant position at Security Finance Corporation that you may be interested in based on information from your resume or a recent online application you made on our site. You can review the position on the CareerBuilder site here:

Chief Business Development Officer


We wish you best of luck!


Risa
Careerbuilder Customer Service Team
CareerBuilder ,5550-A Peachtree Parkway , Norcross, GA 30092

You are currently subscribed to receive "CareerBuilder.com Customer Messages" as service@careerbuilder.com
You can modify your account info or unsubscribe from this email at any time.

==========

Date:      Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:52:37 +0530
From:      Deena@site.careerbuilder.com
Subject:      You might be interested in this vacant position.


Hello,

I am a customer service officer at CareerBuilder. I found a position at Security Finance Corporation that you may take interest in based on information from your resume or a recent online submission you made on our site. You can review the position on the CareerBuilder site here:

Customer Service Representative


We wish you best of luck!


Deena
Careerbuilder Customer Service Team
CareerBuilder ,5550-A Peachtree Parkway , Norcross, GA 30092

You are currently subscribed to receive "CareerBuilder.com Customer Messages" as service@careerbuilder.com
You can modify your account info or unsubscribe from this email at any time.

The link tries to download from popcows.net/main.php?page=d024eabc8c2bdbfc (70.32.97.205 / Media Temple, US) which is 404ing at the moment, however it is still worth blocking it as a precaution.