Phishers exploit confusion over Lik-Sang closure

Fraudsters are apparently attempting to profit from the confusion over last week's closure of the online shop of mail-order supplier Lik-Sang. heise Security has seen evidence that former customers of the Hong Kong based electronic goods exporter have received phishing e-mails which refer to the reimbursement of a particular sum. The link in the email leads to a website where visitors are requested to enter their PayPal details. The fraud is easily detected because of the spelling error in the domain www.ljk-sang.com to which the link leads.

This particular phishing attempt is probably part of a larger venture. Such emails are unlikely to have been sent exclusively to former customers, with the aim of also obtaining PayPal addresses from people who sense an opportunity as a result of an error by the online shop. Following the closure Lik-Sang did in fact announce that it would not process outstanding orders and would reimburse payments already received. The objectionable direct exporter says that it found itself forced to close its online shop following a legal defeat in a dispute with electronics group Sony. Sony filed a claim against the online retailer's parent company Pacific Game Technology Limited, because they had been exporting the Japanese version of the Playstation Portable (PSP) to Europe. A British court has now declared the sales illegal. The Japanese group's claim was based on copyright infringement and protection of customer interests.

(ehe)