iPhone 5 Scam: Fake Apple Announcement Email Leads to PC Virus [WARNING]

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True, the iPhone 5S mockup doesn't look very realistic. Those of us paying attention to reports and rumors know that it isn't very likely to be see-through or monochromatic. Its very name is a mashup of two possible Apple phones -- the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S. The grammatically-challenged text below the picture should be a tip-off, too: "Introducing the iPhone that lets you do more than ever. And do it amazingly faster."

But for those who aren't paying attention, and who are only vaguely aware that a new iPhone is launching this week, such an email -- complete with an "order now" button -- could make easy bait for malware. And that's just what this email is, according to security firm Sophos -- a lure for users to unintentionally install a nasty little Trojan called Mal/Zapchas-A.

Ironically, given the Apple-based announcement, the malware only affects Windows machines. The email was first noticed by Dutch technology journalist Abram Wagenaar. It bears a great deal of resemblance to a similar email that did the rounds just before the Steve Jobs keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

That email suggested we'd see an "iPhone 5S" with a built-in, slide-out keyboard. The look of that email was less Apple-like than the latest effort, though much of the text was similar. Memo to malware makers: You've learned Photoshop; now try brushing up on your copy editing.

Bonus: What the New iPhone May Look Like