Evil scammers cash in on London bombings

A widely spammed email has been hitting email inboxes claiming to be from the bank of Giles Hart, a 55-year-old BT worker who died in a bomb blast in Tavistock Square on July 7.

The email, giving the name of an apparent executive director of a London Bank, indicates the recipient may be the next of kin and in line for an inheritance of some £6.9 million.

"Mr Hart was a genuine victim of the terrible bombings in London. Sick criminals are deliberately using his name in an attempt to steal from others, without a thought for Mr Hart's grieving family," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at antivirus company Sophos. "Everyone should be wary of emails which claim that an unexpected inheritance has appeared out of the blue, as it's a common trick used by fraudsters to steal money and bank account information."

On July 12 SC reported virus writers were exploiting the bombings of July 7 in order to propagate malicious code. A virus was being distributed in an email claiming to contain a link to amateur footage of a blast scene.

www.sophos.com