A recent Scamwatch email alert is warning about a dangerous scam impersonating the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The email contains links that will infect your computer with malware and hold your data for ransom.
The article at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/ contains an example of the email. The scam starts by informing the business owner that ‘a complaint has been filed against your Business’. It then states that they should click on the link to view the complaint.
Hovering over the link will show that it does not go to a Australian Government website. The link leads to a zip file containing a malicious program and does not contain a pdf as stated.
Protect Yourself
We encourage everyone to be careful when reading emails. Think twice before clicking on any links or website that may seem suspicious. If you are unsure if an email is real, consult a colleague or IT professional.
Other email scams currently received by Australian users report to be from Netflix and the Federal Court. The ATO (Australian Tax Office) has also warned about scam emails due to Tax time. Complaints about fake surveys and gift cards are also on the rise.
Unfortunately, these email scams target millions of addresses and do work. Australians lost over $229 million to scams in 2015, an average of $10 per Australian.