Week in review 13 February 2015

We started the week with two banking phishing emails and ended it with a Gumtree phishing email, which is a new one for us. And of course, we had the now obligatory tale of Valentine’s Day scams. Read on to see the week in review.

Phishing email threatens Service Suspension

National Australia Bank users were being targeted with a new phishing campaign, the gist of which they had to click on a link to update their banking account details, or else. The or else in this case was (or is) suspension of online services. Ostensibly, the reason for the email was that the National Australia Bank needs some details updated. The email however is a fake, and can be deleted.

Confirm transaction says phishing email

A favourite ruse of criminals of late is the “confirm a transaction” and either listing a transaction at an improbable time (and sometimes a non-existent date) or listing the last couple of digits of an account that money has supposedly been transferred to. These schemes are pretty clever; they play upon people’s fears of being hacked, and they utilise the tactic of pushing people to act. The transactions are deliberately chosen to be at odd times or with an account number. The latest type of email to hit our email filters was directed at Westpac users. It can be deleted.

Surprise your Valentine scam

For all the romantics out there it is Valentine’s Day on February 14. If you have forgotten, then perhaps you should mark it down on the calendar. And if you receive emails telling you to click on a link to complete a survey and possibly win a $500 gift voucher, you should not click on the links and delete the email. We have noticed something of an uptick in Valentine’s Day themed emails (for want of a better word) in the last few days. The most common one was indeed an email claiming the recipient could receive a $500 gift card if they completed a survey. The enticement used was to spend it on your Valentine. Sadly, it was all a scam.

Gumtree account locked phishing email states

And finally, we had Gumtree, and you’ll be up one if you do click on the link in a phishing email that claims to be from Gumtree. As per usual the criminals say that your account is locked; if you want to unlock it, click on this link. Clicking on the link however, will take you to phishing site that attempts to steal login credentials. Don’t click on the links in the email; delete it.

Scott Reeves
MailShark
Free anti-spam service
Free email filter service

Past weekly reviews >