NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Cybercriminals Exploit bin Laden's Death

Cybercriminals have been quick to pounce on Internet users scouring the Internet for information about one of the biggest news events of the last decade: the death of Osama bin Laden.

Within hours of the news that U.S forces had killed the Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan on Sunday, malware began popping up websites optimized to appear on web searchers related to bin Laden's death.

Scammers took advantage of the phrase "Osama bin laden dead" being the most popular Google search on Monday, luring Internet users to links supposedly containing photos, videos and other information surrounding bin Laden's death.

FULL COVERAGE: BIN LADEN KILLED AT LAST

However, many links have been tainted with malware, infecting user's computers when they are prompted to download a file or watch a video.

Image and video searches have been easy targets for scammers as people scramble for visual images of bin Laden. A doctored photo, supposedly taken after bin Laden was killed, was found accompanying a news story and video containing malicious software.

Spammers also tageted Facebook, circulating messages offering fake deals from Subway and Southwest Airlines. When the bogus link is clicked, users are redirected to pages and enticed to enter personal information and email addresses.

Users are urged to be cautious of any links promising photos or videos of bin Laden, as no official photos have been released of bin Laden's body after his death was reported.

Similar scams were reported after the recent earthquake in Japan. Cybercriminals typically exploit significant news events because they encourage users to click on attractive headlines.

Screen grab from an image search for "bin Laden death"

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Bin Laden Attack Live-Tweeted; Read the Tweets

A tweeter who lives in Abbottabad, the Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed, inadvertently live-tweeted U.S. special forces' attack on bin Laden's compound. ReallyVirtual (Sohaib Athar) is "An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops," according to his Twitter page.

What follows is the text of his tweets during the attack. It makes for an informative read -- from the bottom up, of course.

ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Bin Laden is dead. I didn't kill him. Please let me sleep now.
2 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Reuters got to me before I could go to sleep.
3 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Need to sleep after talking to @mosharrafzaidi and @OmarWaraich as they got to me first in person.
4 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@latikambourke It is Suhayb
5 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
I'm sorry to all the MSM journalists trying to reach me via phone/email etc. for not being able to reply to their queries individually.
5 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@ahmedbilal Not yet not yet
5 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@jovensclaudio The gunfight lasted perhaps 4-5 minutes, I heard. That was around 10 hours ago. There are no other gunfights that I know of.
6 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Thank you Google, thousands of email reduced to a few dozen.
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
I guess an 'is now following you' GMail filter is the next logical step
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
For the people who are trying to email me to reach me, I simply can't filter out the notifications from the emails :-(
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Interesting, I didn't think my name would trend on twtter before releasing a couple of rock albums and a few award-winning software....
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@saidation D saidation People don't use twitter here, hence they don't realize the attention they're getting. Ignorance is bliss.
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@ahmedbilal Yea now I'm waiting for the bounty money ;-)
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@ahmedbilal I am working. On the PC. The coffeeshop staff can't reach here due to traffic blocks, so tell me how I can manage that? lol
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
It is a good thing my blog server is infected with malware today, I guess :-/
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@ahmedbilal nah, can't handle the rush at the moment ;-)
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@ExecSkelton I was at least 2-3 km away from that area. Planning to stay alive, if they let me live, lol.
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
I am JUST a tweeter, awake at the time of the crash. Not many twitter users in Abbottabad, these guys are more into facebook. That's all.
7 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@sabahat24 Irony follows me everywhere I go :-/
8 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@bweixlmann Thanks for the concern, I'm alive so far :-)
8 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
1 dead and 1 injured in Abbottabad for heli crashed
14 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@raihak The day there is uninterrupted electricity in Lahore for a whole month, I will start packing my bags, until then, Abbottabad is home
14 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
And now, a plane flying over Abbottabad...
15 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
and now I feel I must apologize to the pilot about the swatter tweets :-/
15 hours ago
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terminalxpk Terminal X
by ReallyVirtual
The Major also says no "missiles" were fired and all such exaggerated reports are nothing but rumours #Pakistan
15 hours ago
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terminalxpk Terminal X
by ReallyVirtual
A Major of the #Pakistan #Army's 19 FF, Platoon CO says incident at #Abbottabad where #helicopter crashed is accidental and not an "attack"
15 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Two helicpoters, one down, could actually be the training accident scenario they're saying it was >> http://bit.ly/ioGE6O
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Here's the location of the Abbottabad crash according to some people >>> http://on.fb.me/khjf34
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@smedica 'safer' is a relative term that has lost its meaning in Pakistan
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@smedica I live near Jalal Baba Auditorium
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@smedica It must have been more, I started noticing the helicpoter when the noise got irritating - which part of Abbottabd are you in?
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@tahirakram very likely - but it was too noisy to be a spy craft, or, a very poor spy craft it was.
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@smedica people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful.
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@wqs figures, if they have the right to shoot planes flying over the president house, the must have the same instructions for PMA
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there's report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone.
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@tahirakram they're not saying anything
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@kashaziz technically, it is unidentified until identified, and it is a flying object, so year, why the hell not, we have seen weirder stuff
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@tahirakram yea. *hides his giant swatter*
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@raihak yep, the mad power cuts have reached abbottabad - 14 hours daily - luckily I have a generator AND a UPS at the coffee shop
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@raihak Funny, moving to Abbottabad was part of the 'being safe' strategy
16 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@raihak I try, man, I try
16 hours ago
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han3yy Hania Ahmed
by ReallyVirtual
OMG :S Bomb Blasts in Abbottabad.. I hope everyone is fine :(
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@m0hcin the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani...
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@m0hcin http://bit.ly/ljB6p6 seems like my giant swatter worked !
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
@m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too... the helicopter is gone too.
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/
17 hours ago
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ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
17 hours ago