Sophos experts note that this scam is just the latest in a number of tricks that cybercriminals have been exploiting since the recent disasters in China and Burma, but warn that while many users are aware of phishing emails and therefore will not respond, this attack downloads malicious code onto the user’s computer without them even noticing. Hackers can then use this to steal sensitive and confidential information for financial gain and to commit identity theft.

Samples intercepted by SophosLabs, Sophos’s global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centres, show that the Trojan horse (known as Troj/MalDoc-Fam) arrives in a user’s inbox as a news report which entices innocent victims to click on the attached word document and read the latest about the tragedy.

A typical spammed email reads as follows:

’BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — The death toll from the earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province has risen to 34,074 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council. Pay attention to attachment for more."

However, opening the Word document attached triggers an exploit which silent downloads further malware onto the user’s computer.’

"Over the last few weeks, we’ve already seen several examples of cybercriminals trying to exploit the natural disasters suffered by China and Burma, and it seems there’s no end to their tactics," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "To avoid falling victim, computer users need to use their common sense and not open emails from people they don’t know. By deleting them straight away, you’re cutting the fraudsters off before they even have the chance to trick you into giving them money as they pose as victims of the tragedy, or try and install malware on your computer."