A phishing email is in circulation attempting to lure recipients to fake news video purporting to come from a major Hispanic TV network and showing former Cuban President Fidel Castro lying in a coffin with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in tears at his side, Websense has warned.
In a posting on its security blog, Websense said recipients clicking on a link to the fake video actually will receive a trojan downloader hosted from a malware site in Korea.
A message in Spanish dated February 28 in the bogus email appears under a "Univision.com Exclusivo" label, including the logo for the popular Spanish-language TV network, and informs recipients that Castro suffered a sudden heart attack the day before and died.
According to Websense, the bogus message reads in English:
"This morning, inside his residence in Languito, the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro died. Video of Hugo Chavez (Venezuela's President) crying next to his casket. Image of Fidel Castro inside a casket. Here are exclusive Images and Video. According to official news, Cuban dictator Castro had been in critical condition for the past few days and suffered an unexpected heart attack."
A photo of what appears to be Castro lying in state is included in the message.
Castro has not spoken in public in more than a year after falling ill and undergoing emergency surgery, and has only appeared briefly in film clips showing Chavez visiting with him in the hospital. The Cuban leader recently issued a letter ceding power to his brother, Raul.
