Everyone wants a scam-free Christmas! While many of us look forward to holidays at Christmas, scammers are working overtime. There’s no rest for them as they try to catch you out during the busy festive season. Watch out for these scams in the coming weeks. You may have seen some of them before – scammers don’t hesitate to recycle their scams at Christmas.
Beware of phishing (spam) emails with PDF attachments that contain a malicious link.
These kinds of messages often come from financial institutions. The instructions in the email ask you to click the attachment and provide a range of personal information. Beware. Banks never seek personal information from their customers in this way. This kind of email may not be identified as malicious by your security software as it has no malicious content or links and the attachment does not contain malware.
Do not click the link in the fake company name renewal notice.
A fake company name renewal notice, which looks to be from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is doing the rounds. It contains a link to a renewal letter, and once the link is clicked malware is downloaded which may contain a virus, ransomware or perhaps a keylogger.
Watch for cloned online shopping websites.
The cloning of websites is another way scammers are tricking consumers out of their personal information and hard-earned cash. Department stores are having their whole website cloned and the clone looks just as the real website does. Often it’s the small differences that give things away. For example, it could be the payment process or perhaps a small variation in the URL.
More tips to help you spot scam emails.
Watch for emails with generic greetings, such as ‘Dear Member’. If the email isn’t addressed to you personally, be cautious. If the message asks for immediate and urgent action, or requests your personal details, be suspicious. Watch for bad grammar and spelling mistakes – especially in URLs or links – this is a deliberate trick to avoid email filters.
So, this Christmas, when the time finally comes for you to kick back and put your feet up, remain vigilant when it comes to the care and attention you give to the emails arriving in your inbox to ensure you enjoy a scam-free Christmas.
Here’s some more articles that may be of interest:
What to watch out for in the latest email scams
Whale phishing and how to protect yourself
