Spam Alert!

Watch out for this junk. I've gotten several emails like this but thank goodness was smart enough not to click on any links! From librarian Chris in Menlo Park: I have seen a surge in court-related phishing schemes and malware delivery attempts via email and have personally received variants of emails informing me that my case in Florida (or wherever) is on hold pending a service of process and wouldn’t I mind just clicking on the attachment to help expedite the process, etc., etc. Given that we work in the legal realm, it’s very tempting to click on these sort of things, but the zip attachments or links usually mask an exe package. Fake FedEx failed delivery notices, claims, lawsuits, notice of insufficient funds, bank statements are all common modes of delivery. One of the more insidious viruses that these emails deliver is Cryptolocker which is a new class of malware termed “ransomware.” Once launched (usually by clicking on one of the aforementioned attachments), Cryptolocker secretly encrypts all your files as well as any attached network files, including linked DropBox or other cloud storage drives. Once the encryption is complete, the user is informed that they have three days to wire $300-1,200 dollars to obtain the decryption key and once the three days expire, the files are no longer accessible unless the user purchased the key. Particularly nasty stuff. Be careful out there.