[LUNI] curious emails and even curiouser replies

[jean at kcco.com]

Greetings,

I appear to be getting some odd emails indicative of a worm seeking to spread
itself.

What is disturbing is that the emails are replies from the USPTO addressed to
me, implying that they are responding with the assumption that the original mail
came from me!  This is particularly worrying as (a) they are a government agency
(and one I have been very critical of publicly) and (b) the attached zip file
appears to contain a .pif file that may contain a trojan/worm (I'm no expert on
trojans and worms per se, having as little to do with Windows and microsloth
software as humanely possible).  Examinations under linux of the file in
question didn't reveal anything readily apparent, but since I've received 3 of
these messages on a relatively secret account (which has thus been kept
spam-free), I am wondering what is going on.

Does anyone else have any experience with this type of worm?  I'm assuming it is
fairly widespread, and my living and working in GNU/Linux bliss has mitigated my
exposure to this nonsense previously.

Any insights and pointers to more information would be greatly appreciated.

regards,

Jean.

[snip]
Reply To: ,,

The Trademark Assistance Center is unable to open the referenced attachment.

Thank you for your email.  Unfortunately, we are unable to assist you with the
matter you reference.  It does not appear to involve trademark law or issues,
and is therefore beyond the scope of our jurisdiction.

Thank you for contacting the Trademark Assistance Center (TAC).
For additional information, please refer to our website at
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm.
You may contact TAC by telephone at (703) 308-9000 or 1(800) 786-9199.
TAC representatives are available Monday through Friday (except Federal Holidays)
from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Please note that TAC handles a high volume of calls and customers may encounter
delays
during peak business hours.


----Your----Original----Message----
>From : jean-michel at kcco.com
Date : Wed, 25 Jun 2003 19:44:20 -0400
To: TrademarkAssistanceCenter at uspto.gov
Cc:
Subject : Re: Movie

Please see the attached zip file for details.

[snip]