Sophos has disputed claims that 20,000 Australian bank accounts were compromised by the insidious Sinowal Trojan.

The Israel-based RSA Fraudaction Research Lab previously reported that the malware variant stole up to to 300,000 bank account details without detection since February 2006.

"The data is not reliable because it is taken from a raft of sources and not all [stolen] bank accounts are legitimate. Sinowal (aka Torpig, Mebroot) is not a single piece of malware, any more than, say, Africa is a single country or Sydney a single suburb," Sophos Asia Pacific head of technology Paul Ducklin told Computer World Australia.

RSA has termed the Sinowal Trojan "one of the most pervasive and advanced pieces of crimeware ever created". A security blog post explained that "Sinowal [has been] collecting and transmitting information for almost three years. [This] is a very, very long time for just one online gang to maintain the lifecycle and operations in order to effectively utilise just one Trojan."

Although Sophos has attempted to downplay the effects of the Sinowal Trojan, the company recently issued a serious warning over a phishing campaign expected to target UK tax payers.

The company reportedly intercepted sample emails offering to return £450 to £650 worth of tax to "every man aged between 30 and 55 years". The phone tax-relief messages, which purported to originate from the UK Government & Ministry of Finance, directs users to a website that requests sensitive personal information, including age, marital status and number of children. The data could be used by phishers to construct fraudulent identity profiles for credit card forms and other online transactions.

"At a time when many people will be uncertain about their finances and job security, cybercriminals have clearly been quick to take advantage of the situation," explained Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"As the Government is expected to make announcements relating to recession-busting tax cuts, those eager for the bigger picture should monitor official channels and ignore any unsolicited emails asking for personal details. This campaign, coming in the run-up to Christmas, also takes advantage of the trend for special-offers and vouchers to be circulated via email - computer users should do their best to stay mindful of the risks."  X

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