Think you are actually ordering an iPhone online, perhaps not...  There looks to be a benefit to standing in line.

Apple, AT&T, and accessory makers aren't the only ones taking advantage of the massive wave of iPhone hype. Virus writers and scam artists are hopping on for the ride as well, and they have already managed to set up a botnet that exploits would-be iPhone customers who think they're trying to buy Apple's newest must-have gadget.

Security solution company PandaLabs uncovered a 7,500-computer (and growing) botnet this week infected by a Trojan called Aifone.A. PC users who have been infected by the virus trying to buy an iPhone from Apple's own URL (iphone.com) get redirected to another site mimicking the iPhone site. If the users ultimately attempt to order an iPhone through the spoofed site, they will then hand their bank or credit card details over to the scammers. 

"This is one of the most sophisticated attacks we have seen targeting a user community, in this case iPhone users," said PandaLabs technical director Luis Corrons in a statement. "It is a really complex, dangerous attack that combines elements of malware (the Trojan), phishing (the spoofed web page) and even adware (pop-ups, modification of search results, etc.)"

Read the rest at: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070710-botnet-targets-wannabe-iphone-owners.html

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