iPad Giveaway Gives Users’ Identities Away

April 3 cannot come soon enough for those who are eager to get their hands on the iPad. If anything, Apple’s recent announcement that the gadget will soon be available in the United States only added to the excitement over the much-talked-about gadget. Unfortunately, spammers are using the current enthusiasm over the iPad to their advantage as well.
In fact, Trend Micro anti-spam research engineers have already seen a number of spammed messages that promise free iPads to lure unwitting users into their scams. In one such spam sample, recipients are being invited to test the iPad at no cost by simply applying to be part of a “word-of-mouth” marketing campaign. They may not have to shell out a single cent but the price they have to pay will be their identities.

The spammed messages instruct users to reply to the email with their personal information, which spammers could easily use for further malicious activities. As Trend Micro anti-spam research engineer, Argie Gallego, recommends, “Users should be suspicious of any freebies offered online, particularly those requiring sensitive personal information such as full name and contact numbers. We have only seen a number of iPad-related spam so far but we expect the numbers to rise as April 3 (continue reading...)