A new spam campaign is using mp3 files to try and manipulate the stock market, according to the security software firm Sophos.
The mp3s that are being sent out disguise themselves as music from a variety of artists, such as Elvis and Carrie Underwood, but when opened, consist of a man's voice instructing the recipient to invest in a small company. Listeners are told to invest in Exit Only Incorporated, which is a company that runs a website where one can sell and buy cars.
Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "Users may click on the mp3 file expecting to hear Elvis, but they'll be all shook up when they discover it's actually a voice resembling Marvin the Paranoid Android droning on about a stock that is set to be the next big thing. "The spammers are already likely to have purchased stock on the cheap, and they are now trying to artificially inflate its price."
If the spammers do succeed in making the price of the stock go up, then they will then sell up all their stock at a profit, added Mr Cluley.
This method is known as a pump and dump scam.
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