Over the past few weeks, MX Logic stated on its corporate website it has been seeing more single-line spam, meaning an email that contains a brief bait based on fake news headlines such as "US track team disqualified from Olympics" or "Beijing Olympics postponed indefinitely" followed by a link. Once the user is hooked, the email will link to a "video codec" download to view the video, when in fact, it is malware.

MX Logic expects the new CNN tactic to work better than the single-line spam tactic because it looks so convincing. It also attempts to trick the user into believing that they signed up to receive it because of their email preference settings at the CNN web site.

The CNN email is one of the latest in a slew of phishing attacks costing the US economy alone $8.5 billion according to a new study by Consumer Reports (consumerreports.org).

The study showed that more than half a million computers were replaced during the last six months because of various malware infections.

"Phishing still thrives it's easy for criminals to download sophisticated and cheap phishing kits that feature authentic-looking corporate logos and other tools," the report explained.

In late July, internet intelligence firm Envisional (envisional.com) warned online banking customers about a new Vegas-themed phishing fraud tricking users into revealing credit card information.