JPMorgan customers targeted in email phishing campaign
BOSTON/NEW YORK - Fraudsters are targeting JPMorgan Chase & Co customers in an email "phishing" campaign that is unusual because it attempts to collect credentials for that bank and also infect PCs with a virus that steals passwords from other institutions.
The campaign, dubbed "Smash and Grab," was launched on Tuesday with a widely distributed email that urged recipients to click to view a secure message from JPMorgan, according to security researchers with corporate email provider Proofpoint Inc.
JPMorgan, the No. 1 U.S. bank by assets, confirmed that spammers had launched a phishing campaign targeting its customers.
"It looks like they sent it out to lots of people in hopes that some of them might be JPMorgan Chase customers,” said bank spokeswoman Trish Wexler.
She said the bank believes most of the spam was stopped by filters at large Internet providers, adding that the email looked realistic because the attackers apparently used a screen grab from an authentic email sent by the bank.
Users who click on a malicious link are asked to enter credentials for accessing accounts with JPMorgan. Even if they did not comply, the site attempts to automatically install the Dyre banking Trojan on their PCs, according to Proofpoint.
Dyre is a recently discovered piece of malware that seeks credentials from customers of Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, according to email security firm Phishme.
Proofpoint Vice President of Threat Research Mike Horn said it is unusual for spammers to infect PCs with malware while trying to persuade users to provide banking credentials because that increases the odds of detection.
"Usually when they do credential phishing, that is all they do. In this case, they are throwing in the kitchen sink," Horn said.
The campaign, dubbed "Smash and Grab," was launched on Tuesday with a widely distributed email that urged recipients to click to view a secure message from JPMorgan, according to security researchers with corporate email provider Proofpoint Inc.
JPMorgan, the No. 1 U.S. bank by assets, confirmed that spammers had launched a phishing campaign targeting its customers.
"It looks like they sent it out to lots of people in hopes that some of them might be JPMorgan Chase customers,” said bank spokeswoman Trish Wexler.
She said the bank believes most of the spam was stopped by filters at large Internet providers, adding that the email looked realistic because the attackers apparently used a screen grab from an authentic email sent by the bank.
Users who click on a malicious link are asked to enter credentials for accessing accounts with JPMorgan. Even if they did not comply, the site attempts to automatically install the Dyre banking Trojan on their PCs, according to Proofpoint.
Dyre is a recently discovered piece of malware that seeks credentials from customers of Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, according to email security firm Phishme.
Proofpoint Vice President of Threat Research Mike Horn said it is unusual for spammers to infect PCs with malware while trying to persuade users to provide banking credentials because that increases the odds of detection.
"Usually when they do credential phishing, that is all they do. In this case, they are throwing in the kitchen sink," Horn said.
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