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Fake FDIC bank deposit insurance coverage notification leading to ZBot

Trojan bankrupts computers under the cover of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

This week's malware distribution campaign, relying on a medium size spam wave, features the abusive use of the governmental independent agency name and identification elements to swindle the recession-panicked account owners into downloading and endangering their computers.

The unsolicited message informs the assumed holders of an FDIC-insured bank account that the agency has declared the bankruptcy of the supposed financial institution where their accounts were opened. The message also asks the recipients to check the status of their deposit insurance coverage, by following an alleged customized link towards the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Web site.

The link does not lead to the agency portal, but to a Web page (registered on a .uk domain) that mimics a personal insurance on-line account, employing several visual identification components of the original FDIC Web site (namely the logo and the general formatting elements).

The page also provides a purported PDF and Word document that the user should download and fill in. However, upon downloading the fake files, the user does not receive the insurance e-form, but two executables carrying a malicious payload, currently detected by BitDefender as Trojan.Zbot.DLO, which is, in effect, another version of the infamous ZBot.

This long-lasting Trojan is still very prolific, as proven by the last weeks' malware dissemination campaigns that exploited IRS' identity. This breed also has rootkit components that facilitate its hidden installation onto the compromised machines, either in the Windows or Program Files directory. ZBot injects code into several processes and adds exceptions to the Microsoft® Windows® Firewall, providing backdoor and server capabilities. It also sends sensitive information and listens on several ports for possible commands from the remote attackers. Last but not least, ZBot attempts to connect and download files from servers with domain names apparently registered in the Russian Federation.

The latest variants are also able to steal bank-related information, login data, history of the visited Web sites and other details the user inputs, while also capturing screenshots of the compromised machine's desktop.

To protect your systems and data and avoid becoming a victim of the on-line financial and tax-related frauds, follow the tips I provided here.