Like practically every newsperson I’ve ever met, I like to stay up on the national and international news, even though the chances are slim to none that it will affect my own beat that day.

Unfortunately, it’s not just reporters and editors who want the average person at home to stay informed. Attackers also have a stake in end-users staying cognizant of the news of the world – especially in this age of the emailed news alert.

Take the latest hacker scheme playing on current events: an emailed alert saying that U.S. or Israeli armed forces have launched an assault on Iran, touching off a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.

Of course it’s not true, at least not yet. But with Iran’s recent abduction of 15 British servicepeople and rising tensions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions, it just could be true, couldn’t it? The attackers are hoping that you, informed citizen, will want to click on the conveniently provided link to find out more.

The F-Secure research team’s blog and the incident log of the SANS Internet Storm Center have more information on the scam, and the malware it’s trying to disseminate.