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TALLAHASSEE - The attorney general's office has warned Floridians of a rapidly spreading electronic mail scam that tries to deceive recipients into believing a message is from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Those receiving the email are told that the FBI has monitored their internet use and determined that they are guilty of accessing illegal websites.
The email instructs recipients to open an attachment and answer a series of questions. Instead of containing questions from the federal law enforcement agency, the attachment actually unleashes a computer virus. The email appears to be authentic, as the originating email address is either mail@fbi.gov, post@fbi.gov or admin@fbi.gov. Other originating addresses are possible.
With the email coming from such an official-sounding source, the recipient is enticed to open the attachment, which contains a variant of the w32/sober virus. If the program within the attachment is executed, the virus - a type of "Trojan horse" that appears to be innocent but is not - is launched and may adversely affect the user's computer.
These emails did not come from the FBI, and the bureau strongly encourages computer users not to open such attachments. If received, this email should be deleted without the user opening it. The FBI is investigating the matter, and the Florida Attorney General's Office is monitoring the situation after being alerted to the existence of the bogus email by the FBI. The Attorney General's Office has already received its first complaint from a consumer harmed by the virus.
"While computers represent a positive advancement for modern society, unfortunately there are those who have nothing better to do than cause mayhem and destruction," said AG Charlie Crist. "We hope that word can spread quickly so this Trojan Horse can be stopped at the starting gate."
For detailed information on the effects of running this virus please log onto http://www.cert.org. Those who receive the deceptive email may contact the Attorney General's Fraud Hotline at 1-866-966-7226 or contact the FBI directly through www.fbi.gov.
The text of the email is as follows:
"Dear Sir/Madam,
We have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.
Important: Please answer our questions! The list of questions are attached.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Allison
Federal Bureau of Investigation-FBI-"
11-29-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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