It’s always good when you can get a heads up on scams coming at you. This one courtesy of TechRepublic. According to an article there, here are the phishing email subject lines you need to be on the lookout for:
Password Check Required Immediately
Vacation Policy Update
Branch/Corporate Reopening Schedule
COVID-19 Awareness
Coronavirus Stimulus Checks
List of Rescheduled Meetings Due to COVID-19
Confidential Information on COVID-19
COVID-19 – Now airborne, Increased community transmission
Your computer and smartphone aren’t the only ways you can get scammed. You can also get scammed at the gas pump. This week the FTC issued a warning about credit card skimmers at gas pumps.
“Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a warning about the dangers presented by skimmers on gas pumps. Skimmers are small electronic devices that are easily installed by an identity thief on gas pumps, ATMs and other card reading devices. The skimmer steals all of the information from old style magnetic strip credit card or debit cards which then enables the identity thief to use that information to access the victim’s bank account when the skimmer is used on a debit card. If a credit card is used, the identity thief can use the stolen information to access the victim’s credit card account. Each skimmer can hold information on as many as 2,400 cards.” Pay attention at the pump.
If someone offers you free DNSSEC, just know, it’s a scam. This according to Bleeping Computer. “A very clever phishing campaign targets bloggers and website owners with emails pretending to be from their hosting provider who wants to upgrade their domain to use secure DNS (DNSSEC).”
“As it’s possible to determine who is hosting a domain for a website via the WHOIS records, IP addresses, and HTTP headers, the email scam is highly targeted and impersonates the specific hosting company used by a website.” If it seems too good to be true… (more…)
This week’s scam target? Sneakers. The trap? Free sneakers.
From Hype Beast, “According to welivesecurity, messages are being sent that claim adidas is giving away 2,500 pairs of sneakers to honor its 69th anniversary. The process begins from a suspicious link on WhatsApp to a site that gathers your geolocation and IP address, that eventually leads to an archaic four-question survey that qualifies the individual for the free shoes. Of course, no shoes will ever be delivered to round out the scheme.” If it sounds too good to be true…
Not as many people use Discover credit card as those who use Visa and MasterCard. Maybe that’s why it makes our scam of the week.
From Scamicide, “a new phishing email presently being sent to unsuspecting people that appears to come from Discover. A telltale sign that this is a phishing email is that the email address of the sender was one that has nothing to do with Discover and was most likely part of a botnet of computers infected by scammers and then used to send out the phishing email in a way that is not readily traceable back to the scammer.” Those clever little scammers.
You know it’s a bad week when the two people running for President of the United States are as likely to get phished as anyone else. From SC Magazine, “according to the Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG), both are the targets of phishing campaigns by nation-states like China and Iran. Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing.” Stay safe out there. (more…)
Did you know AOL was still around? Us either. Not only is it still around, but apparently, it’s being used in a phishing attack. According to Scamicide, “Today’s Scam of the day is about a phishing email presently circulating that attempts to lure you into clicking on a link in order to continue using your AOL account. If you click on the link two things can occur and both are bad. Either you will end up providing personal information to an identity thief or you will, merely by clicking on the link, download dangerous malware such as ransomware on to your phone, computer or other device.” Now you know.
Ever since the pandemic, phishing attacks on Amazon have skyrocketed. Afterall, more people are shopping online. Such is the case in Taylorville, Ill where “A new email phishing scam is making its way to people’s emails, according to the Taylorville Police Department.”
According to the report, “An email that looks like it’s from Amazon said there was a problem renewing their Amazon Prime Account. The email then gives the user a prompt to find the documents attached to follow on-screen instructions. The instructions then ensure there isn’t a problem with the renewal by gaining personal information.” Yeah, it’s a scam.
That email alert from DHL telling you your package is on the way. Yeah, it’s a phishing scam, but it’s a little more relaxed than you might expect.
From Naked Security, “The crooks are following a much more relaxed formula that doesn’t say much more than, ‘Hey, here’s how to track your delivery,’ which is the sort of message you might reasonably expect when you order something, or when someone orders something for you. They aren’t in it for the money up front – indeed, they never intend to bill you at all, because it’s your personal data that they’re after instead.” That can be just as bad.
Do you use Adobe Cloud? Have you received an email saying you’ve been sent files via Adobe Cloud recently? If the answer to both is “yes.” you’ve probably been scammed.
According to Hoax-Slayer, “the email is a phishing scam designed to steal your email account password and has no connection to Adobe. If you click the link, you will be taken to a website that appears to host a business-related spreadsheet. However, the spreadsheet is greyed out and a pop-up box claims that you must enter your email password to gain full access. If you do enter your password, it will be collected by the scammers and used to hijack your email account and any online services that are linked to it.” Keep safe out there.
First in a series of three ways hackers are using the COVID-19 pandemic to launch phishing scams. First, small business loans. FromABC7 in Chicago, “More help is on the way for small businesses struggling because of the pandemic. Nearly 500,000 loans, totalling $52 billion, have already been approved. It’s the second round of help for businesses, but along with waiting for money, owners are also facing scammers.”(more…)
Invest your money with Schwab? Keep a look out for the latest phishing scam. According to Scamicide, “a new phishing email presently being sent to unsuspecting people that appears to come from Schwab. This particular one came with a Schwab logo. A telltale sign that this is a phishing email is that the email address of the sender was one that has nothing to do with Schwab and was most likely part of a botnet of computers infected by scammers and then used to send out the phishing email in a way that is not readily traceable back to the scammer.” Be careful out there.
A phishing scam that uses what to scam you? Hand sanitizer? That according to WHNT News.
“A phishing email went out to businesses saying the BBB had antiviral, antibacterial hand sanitizer that was being offered exclusively to those receiving the email. It said with only a few weeks until the area opens back up, businesses needed to be stocked. The email then encouraged them to click a link in order to get their supply of hand sanitizer. The BBB says this email was not sent from them, and was a scam.” Keep your hands clean, but not like that.
In what is rapidly becoming a theme of targeting remote workers, ITPro reports that “The Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC) has discovered a new phishing campaign that targets employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. PDC claims that hackers are attempting to harvest Cisco WebEx credentials using a security warning for the application and have successfully averted Cisco’s own Secure Email Gateway.”
When a healthcare organization tells me they suffered a data breach, I tend to believe them. When they tell me social security numbers were unaffected, I have to look a little deeper. Such is the case with the network of Affordable Urgent Care Clinics based in Texas.
An article online “officially confirmed a combination data breach-ransomware attack that exposed sensitive information. The company is claiming that social security numbers were not impacted in the incident, despite security experts having demonstrated that the attackers have published stolen documents containing patients’ and employees’ SSNs.” Things that make you go hmmmm.
If you’re like most people, you have a router in your home. It’s the little black box that gets internet connectivity from your ISP and distributes it throughout your home either via ethernet cable or via a wireless network. Did you know those routers are currently under attack by scammers looking to capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic?(more…)
Apparently there’s someone out there using the idea that a family member has been a car wreck as an opportunity to phish you in Bowling Green, KY. “According to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, if a family member was involved in a ‘wreck’ they do not need you to immediately send them money. Also, do not give out your date of birth or social security number.”
By now you should know that coronavirus is being used to phish victims. And now apparently, it’s also being used to launch ransomware…on smartphones. From SC Magazine, “A malicious Android app that supposedly helps track cases of the coronavirus actually locks users’ phones and demands a ransom in order to restore access.”
Worried that your security certificate is out of date? You should be, but not because it’s out of date, but because the notice you get informing you it’s out of date is a scam.
