MySpace Macy’s Phishing Worm

If you use MySpace, you’ve seen the comments in people’s profiles pimping a stupid free gift card to Macy’s. It’s caused by a phishing attack that swipes Myspace login information from the suckers who fall for the free offer.

From WCBStv here, via Drudge:

Social networking giant MySpace stumbled to its knees at the hands of a cyber superbug recently, falling ill to a severe phishing epidemic that is plaguing a vast and vulnerable segment of its membership.

The viral scam, which targets the site’s younger users, promises victims a free $500 Macy’s gift card. It sounds like a steal. And actually, it is. It’s the stealing of a member’s identity.

The spam scam involves users unknowingly sending their MySpace friends e-mails and posting comments on their profiles that plug a ploy for the supposedly free gift card that they’ll never actually see, touch, or spend.

Members fall into the phishing net by clicking on a provided link in the posting, which in some cases comes in the form of what looks like a video featuring a scantily-clad young woman. After clicking on the link, the member is taken to a faux MySpace login page where the user is asked to re-enter his or her username and password. That information, however, is actually being sent to the “phisher,” a third party illegally acquiring the member’s personal information.

The pain and suffering begins immediately and will continue until either the phisher is caught or the member changes his or her password, mainly because victims simply have no clue they’re sending the e-mails until someone finally tells them.

It has spread so fast and so thoroughly that the site has become, for many, an absolute nightmare to be a part of.

The site is a nightmare because it is a giant collection of nightmarish html coding. But its worse when phishers pimp out free gift cards, prada bags, ipods and other crap, filling up comment sections with meaningless spam. A word of advice to MySpace users- nothing is free.