Has anyone let you know, recently, that you are being watched? There’s proof. Just open the file attached to the email and see for yourself. They’re recording your phone conversations and reading your email, and you can make it stop. Don’t worry about that file. You have virus scanning software on your computer and it didn’t flash any red lights or make any alerting noises or pop up any windows telling you it would quarantine this file, so you’re safe, right?

The Email

I got the above pictured in my email today. The text of the email claims the following, attempting to convince the recipient that he or she should open the attached file.

I am working in a private detective agency. My name is not important now. I want to warn you that i’m going to watch you and overhear your telephone line. Do you want to know who is the customer? Wait for my next email.

P.S. Probably, you don’t believe me. But i think the record of your yesterday’s telephone conversation will assure you that everything is real. The record is in archive. Archive password is 123qwe

What is all this?
Of course, the attachment is a compressed file with a password. The password is to thwart the valiant efforts of your virus software. You see, most (all?) virus software can’t open compressed files protected with a password, so they never see the virus inside. Getting past your protective software is half the battle. If they can then convince you to open the file, game over.

How can I protect myself?
The sad fact of life is that there will always be people out there creating the latest computer virus, hacking sites, phishing for passwords, etc. The best things you can do are to NEVER open any file that you aren’t 100% sure of and keep informed about scams. And keep your friends and family informed. Let them know that you received such an email and that they should watch out for scams like it. Here’s a few examples to get you thinking:

phishingscams.myofb.net
workathomescamguide.com – clever scams
loosewireblog.com – scamming the heart
mytruston.com – check and wire scams
bestsecuritytips.com – XBox Live scam

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