The FTC is warning that a fake email is being sent out which appears to be from their agency, but in fact is a virus. Contained in the fake email is an attachment, that if opened, can unleash the viral pest. In a statement released by the FTC it states:

A bogus email is circulating that says it is from the Federal Trade Commission, referencing a “complaint” filed with the FTC against the email’s recipient. The email includes links and an attachment that download a virus. As with any suspicious email, the FTC warns recipients not to click on links within the email and not to open any attachments.

The spoof email includes a phony sender’s address, making it appear the email is from “frauddep@ftc.gov” and also spoofs the return-path and reply-to fields to hide the email’s true origin. While the email includes the FTC seal, it has grammatical errors, misspellings, and incorrect syntax. Recipients should forward the email to spam@uce.gov and then delete it. Emails sent to that address are kept in the FTC’s spam database to assist with investigations.

Simply opening the email does not appear to cause harm. However, it is likely that anyone who has opened the email’s attachment or clicked on the links has downloaded the virus on their computer, and should run an anti-virus program. The virus appears to install a “key logger” that could potentially grab passwords and account numbers. More information about bogus emails, phishing, and virus protection is available at www.OnGuardOnline.gov.

As always, never open an attachment unless you know who the sender is and that you are expecting the email.

Be careful out there in cyberspace.

Comments welcome.

Full statement is located here.

[tags]ftc, fake, email, attachment, cyberspace, virus, [/tags]