"MoD" in recent computer virus alert...

[Quentin Campbell]

I routinely deal each week with many complaints about spam mail received
by our users. Typical of this spam are the various bogus "Virus Alert"
messages.

To give some credibility to the content and thus encourage the niaive
recipient to send it to yet more people the messages usually use the
formulation

 "This information was announced on <date> by IBM and AOL..."
 
It looks like these names are no longer considered authoritative enough by
some spammers. The most recent hoax virus message I have seen says in
addition (and sort of gets me back on topic!) 

 "Courtesy of Ministry of Defence (UK) COMSEC"

My motive for sharing this with the list is two-fold: I thought it might
cause a wry smile among one or two of you; secondly there is the
off-chance that someone from the MoD is monitoring the list and may feel
moved to follow-up this sort of spam. The MoD has rather more resources at
its disposal than I can muster.  8-) 

 
Quentin Campbell (postmaster)
--
PHONE: +44 191 222 8209     Computing Service, University of Newcastle
FAX:   +44 191 222 8765     Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, NE1 7RU.
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"Any opinions expressed above are mine. The University can get its own."