Beware fake e-card trick

Security experts have warned of a spam email that poses as an electronic postcard but is actually an attempt to trick you into downloading a Trojan horse.

The e-card spreads via email with the subject: ‘You have received a postcard!’ and the message: “You have received a post card from someone who cares about you”.

Sophos claims it has has intercepted hundreds of the spam messages. It said those who follow the link included in the email are taken to a downloadable executable file (postcard.exe). This file is detected as Zapchas-A, a variant of a family of Trojans for the Windows platform.

The Zapchas-A family run continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which could allow a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via messaging channels.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said: "Despite the text's ambiguity and poor spelling, the lack of an attached file means some recipients may believe the email to be harmless."

"In fact, this is how more and more malicious attacks operate today - using a mixture of email and the web to deliver a dangerous payload to the Desktop."

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