With a sick email malware campaign, pond dwelling scumbags are claiming to have kidnapped the children of would-be targets of infection.

The contemptible junk mail messages attempt to panic recipients into opening email attachment supposedly carrying images of abducted infants but in reality loaded with a variant of the Resex information stealing Trojan.

Lucre-loving malware authors have few scruples using national or internal disasters or fictitious news events - up to and including the supposed outbreak of World War III - to punt their wares. But even by these debased standards, the Resex Trojan lure represents a new low.

Fortunately, few people have thus far fallen for the trick. Sophos said that incidents of infection by the Trojan remain, well, low. ®

Related stories

• Million dollar burnout features as malware lure (22 September 2008)
• 'UK's Chernobyl' spam spreads Trojan (11 September 2008)
• Feds not scouring Facebook for terrorists (say Feds) (31 July 2008)
• Malware authors declare start of World War III (again) (12 July 2008)
• Bogus Beijing earthquake reports used to spread malware (19 June 2008)
• 'Legit' website compromises reach epidemic proportions (5 June 2008)
• VXers exploit Burma protest to punt Trojan (28 September 2007)
• Scumbag malware authors exploit Virginia Tech tragedy (19 April 2007)
• Florida man indicted over Katrina phishing scam (18 August 2006)
• VXers hit new low with tsunami-themed worm (17 January 2005)