Spam uses Angelina Jolie's name and fame to spread malware

BitDefender researchers are reporting that new spam messages are using fake events ostensibly involving actor Angelina Jolie and claiming the MSN Featured Offers program. Users that fall for them will be tricked into infecting their PCs with Trojan.Agent.AGGZ. The e-mail typically attempts to lure users into downloading a binary file entitled video-nude-anjelina.avi.exe. As usual, the spam message itself is written using poor grammar and uses multiple obfuscations to trick spam filters.

"The spam wave is part of a larger category of unsolicited mail messages that rely on social engineering techniques in order to lure unwary users into installing Trojans," said Vlad Valceanu, Head Of Antispam Research. Pictures of international celebrities, coupled with catchy fake news leads seem to be a perfect recipe for spreading malware via ignorant users. This point is supported by a recent spam report that noted that spam is being mailed out in "smaller, more targeted batches, and spammers are using varying approaches like leveraging celebrity names and current events to grab attention."

Jolie's fame has been used previously to infect computers by taking advantage of users who believed the actress gave birth to no less than five children (she recently gave birth to twins). Users that clicked on a link that was supposed to show a small video with the event wound up with a very different show. An image impersonating a flash video player would appear, but the site included a drive-by download that infected users' computers with Trojan.Downloader.Exchanger.Gen.1. The site was designed to use the Windows Vista look-and-feel (the Aero wallpaper and icon buttons) in order to gain users' confidence.

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