Scammers Shine Spotlight on Japan Nuclear Meltdown

Right after Sendia was hit by a powerful earthquake, cybercriminals wasted no time and immediately used this incident to leverage their scams. Some Japan earthquake scams were already seen in the wild, however, another variant was also spotted circulating the Web. This time, scammers have banked on news reports regarding the supposed nuclear powerplant meltdown in Japan. 

The spammed message addresses Google Earth users and points them to a link where they can view satellite images of the meltdown and the effects of the tsunami in Japan. Once recipients click the link, users are asked to register and pay for the updated version of Google Earth. This version is supposed to enable users to view the images. Recipients are then led to adware sites. 

Users are advised to avoid emails of this nature. It is still best to visit legitimate online news sites to get the latest updates regarding the unfolding events in Japan.