Cyber criminals love phishing. Unfortunately, this is not a harmless riverbank pursuit. When criminals go phishing, you are the fish and the bait is usually contained in a scam email or text message.
The criminal’s goal is to convince you to click on the links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details).
These messages may look like the real thing but are malicious. Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website which could download viruses onto your computer, or steal your passwords.
For example I recently received the following email from DPD Parcel Service (EXAMPLE A). I wasn't expecting a parcel delivery and I certainly do not subscribe to updates from DPD (UK)). When I clicked on the 'From: 'DPD Delivery' to look at the senders actual email address, to my surprise it was from a personal hotmail account (EXAMPLE B). When in doubt about a sender I always check the senders actual email address or go to the actual website, if it is from a company, to verify the URL address.
If you have received an email which you’re not quite sure about, forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS). DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS IN THE EMAIL!
The message might be from a company you don’t normally receive communications from, or someone you do not know. You may just have a hunch. If you are suspicious, you should report it. The following email was immediately forwarded to SERS.
As it is Christmas I expect to receive a few of these types of emails.
STAY ALERT WESTHORPE RESIDENTS!
EXAMPLE A:
EXAMPLE B
