Should you trust this 'BBC' news report? Work from home scam spammed out

Who do you trust online?

Your friends? Lady Gaga? The media? How about the BBC?

If you read a news story on the BBC website, would you trust what it was saying?

A Naked Security reader forwarded us this interesting email which (fortunately) had been quarantined by his anti-spam defences. What's particularly interesting is the webpage to which it links.



If you were tempted to click on the link are taken to a website which looks like this.



A pretty convincing replica of the BBC website. But, of course, it's not the real BBC News website at www.bbc.co.uk/news, but instead a page that is copying the popular site's graphics and style.

The URL in the address bar might be a giveaway, if you were watching carefully enough.



And see how it refers to a housewife in Abingdon - that's because I was in Abingdon, just outside Oxford, UK, when I visited the webpage. The site has tailored its content to appear more compelling to me by determining where in the world I am.

If I had visited from Bhutan, Botswana or Bognor I would have been told the single mother lived in those places instead.

The purpose of the spam campaign, and the bogus BBC website, is to try to convince you to sign up for a working from home scheme.


As they're using subterfuge to promote their scheme - my advice would be to keep your distance.

nb : nakedsecurity.sophos

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BBC Sport in Rugby World Cup Twitter spam slip-up

A compromised Twitter account has resulted in the embarrassing broadcast of a spam message via the BBC's website.

More and more TV stations are encouraging both their staff and their viewers to jump onboard the social media bandwagon, and use the likes of Twitter to interact and keep up-to-date with the latest developments. But if you don't take care, you may end up with some egg on your face.

Take, for example, BBC Sport's extensive online coverage of the Rugby World Cup, where alongside the match reports and videos you can also follow the latest tweets from the BBC's Rugby correspondents.



It sounds like a terrific idea - a great way for sports fans to keep up with the latest developments from the BBC's team of experts. But take a closer look and you'll find that Jim Mason, BBC Scotland's rugby correspondent, appears to have had his Twitter account compromised. Overnight it sent out a spam message encouraging people to investigate an Acai Berry diet.

Serious about shedding a few pounds? read this its interesting! [LINK]

Jim only has a few hundred followers of his Twitter account, so this spam won't have had a huge impact there. But because it has been syndicated to a much wider audience via the BBC's sports website it has the potential reach many more people and - of course - increase embarrassment for the corporation.

Some 14 hours after the tweet first appeared, it still hasn't been deleted - and is still appearing on the BBC's website.

If you were to click on the link (I wouldn't recommend it) you will be taken to a website that poses as a fake news page, promoting the miracle Acai Berry diet.


My guess would be that Jim's Twitter password has been phished. He should change it immediately, and ensure that he is not using the same password on any other website.

And if you're a media organisation - consider how you're going to handle an authorised Twitter message appearing on your website. This time it was just spam, but it could have been something much more malicious.

nb : nakedsecurity.sophos

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