Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new. They are a staple of identity thieves and scammers and with good reason because they work. Reproduced below is a copy of a new phishing email presently circulating that appears to come from DataTransfer.com a legitimate data transfer service.
As phishing emails go, this one is pretty good. It looks legitimate and the version appearing in your email comes with a legitimate appearing Data Transfer.com logo. Even the email address of the sender does not have obvious indications that it is a scam.
Here is a copy of the DataTransfer.com phishing email presently being circulated.
| Hi xxxxxxxxxx@aol.com, you have received some file(s) from cdc-support@cdc.gov with a total size of 56.49 KB. The file(s) will be deleted after 1 week. Files:Secure Archive.rar Message: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an urgent public health update. Please download and open the attached file immediately to review essential information and guidelines.
Nice day! |
TIPS
There are a number of indications that this is not a legitimate email from DataTransfer.com, but instead is a phishing email. Most notably, the salutation is addressed to the email address of the recipient rather than their name. in addition, the Center for Disease Control is not sending unsolicited emails to people and it is unlikely that if they did, they would conclude their message with “Nice Day!”
As with all phishing emails, two things can happen if you click on the links provided. Either you will be sent to a legitimate looking, but phony website where you will be prompted to input personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft or, even worse, merely by clicking on the link, you may download keystroke logging malware that will steal all of your personal information from your computer or cellphone and use it to make you a victim of identity theft.
If you receive an email like this and think it may possibly be legitimate, merely call the company or organization it purports to be from which in this case is the CDC where you can confirm that it is a scam.
I have disarmed section of the phishing email where it asks you to click on “Download.”
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