Malware scammers exploit Mubarak's exit

419 attack tempts with tales of ex-Egyptian president's frozen funds

The presidential seat of Hosni Mubarak may have barely cooled, but 419 scammers have already begun to exploit his resignation as premier of Egypt.

Symantec's cloud services senior analyst, Paul Wood, has detailed a 419 email attack (also known as an advanced fee scam) written in German.

The email purports to be from Omar Sam, one of the ex-president's legal team. It follows a well-established formula, promising a reward for the recipient if they will help extract funds of $2.5m frozen in a Belgian bank account.

The news that moves have been made to prevent Mubarak from accessing his wealth while in exile has lent credence to the scam.

419 scammers, who typically promise large amounts of money but demand upfront payments first, have been exploiting current events for some years, including unrest in the African subcontinent, the Asian tsunami in 2004 and the recent Haitian earthquake.