Celebrity deaths lead to online scam explosion

Did you hear that Michael Jackson died? Well, the spammers and other e-criminals certainly got the word, too, flooding the web with scams designed to take advantage of you and your morbid curiosity.

The death of pop star Jackson, which sent web traffic through the roof and pounded services like Twitter as the news spread, was (and remains) an outright bonanza for scam artists, and it's a good time to reflect on how crooks prey on trends and current events to trick you into a click or two in a moment of weakness.

If you haven't already started receiving it, you likely will soon. Spam is the primary vector for most attacks like this, because it's so simple to customize a message for just about any occurrence. Spammers simply take a boilerplate phishing message or malware attack envelope and give it a topical headline. Real spam making the rounds right now promises a look at the "last work of Michael Jackson" or the "latest unpublished photos." The lure of secret autopsy photos is also another commonly-used method for attackers when a celebrity dies, as they look to take advantage of thrill-seekers looking for quick jollies.

Of course, the links and photos inside the message are invariably phony. Links will take you to sites that attempt to install malware on your computer which will steal passwords or otherwise hijack your PC.

Working in the attackers' favor with a celebrity-oriented issue is also the fact that lesser-known websites and blogs are likely to have more news and commentary on this issue than major media outlets. While spammers and attackers often use current events like wars, political issues, and financial scandals to trick you into clicking on dangerous links, users are less likely to trust those links when major international events take place, instead preferring the safer ground of CNN and the like. But when celebrity gossip is involved, the guard often goes down. People, it seems, will click on anything if a musician or movie star is involved.

And as the linked story above notes, dangerous links abound: GoDaddy alone registered some 7,500 Michael Jackson-oriented domain names since the death of the man; the majority are likely destined to be used eventually for distributing malware or as less heinous ad farms.

The bottom line: Keep your guard up when a big "water cooler" story like this erupts. In fact, be even more vigilant than you'd normally be.