A series of phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing is targeting airline consumers with messages crafted Attack.Phishing to trick Attack.Phishing victims into handing over personal or business credentials . A wave string of phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing is targeting airline consumers with messages crafted Attack.Phishing to trick Attack.Phishing victims into handing over personal or business credentials . The phishing messages pretend to be sent from Attack.Phishing a travel agency or a someone inside the target firm , they include a weaponized document or embed a malicious link . “ Over the past several weeks , we have seen a combination of attack techniques . One , where an attacker impersonates a travel agency or someone inside a company . Recipients are told an email contains an airline ticket or e-ticket , ” explained Asaf Cidon , vice president , content security services at Barracuda Networks . According to Barracuda Networks , aviation-themed phishing attacks Attack.Phishing contain links to spoofed Attack.Phishing airline sites , threat actors personalize Attack.Phishing the phishing page in a way to trick Attack.Phishing victims into providing business information . The attackers show a deep knowledge of the targets , hackers are targeting logistic , manufacturing and shipping industries . “ It ’ s clear there is some degree of advanced reconnaissance that takes place before targeting individuals within these companies , ” Cidon added . Recently the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team issued an alert of phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing targeting airline consumers . “ US-CERT has received reports of email-based phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing targeting airline consumers . Systems infected through phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing act as an entry point for attackers to gain access Attack.Databreach to sensitive business or personal information. ” reads the US-CERT warning . “ US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review an airline Security Advisory ( link is external ) and US-CERT ’ s Security Tip ST04-014 for more information on phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . ” The US-CERT specifically references the security advisory published by Delta Air Lines that warned its consumers of fraudulent activities . “ Delta has received reports of attempts by parties not affiliated with us to fraudulently gather customer information in a number of ways including : fraudulent emails , social media sites , postcards , Gift Card promotional websites claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Delta Air Lines and letters or prize notifications promising free travel , ” states the Delta Air Lines warning . Barracuda confirmed that these campaigns have a high success rate : “ Our analysis shows that for the airline phishing attack Attack.Phishing , attackers are successful over 90 percent of the time in getting employees to open airline impersonation emails , ” concluded Cidon . “ This is one of the highest success rates for phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . ”

Coventry Trading Standards is again warning Apple Store users to be aware of phishing emails attempting to steal Attack.Databreach your Apple ID log in details as well as personal and financial information . A Westwood resident reported receiving Attack.Phishing an authentic looking email ‘ invoice ’ from the Apple Store in regards to an order that was placed . At the end of the email , there is a link to ‘ View Your Order ’ . If you click on this link , you will no doubt be taken to Attack.Phishing a fake server and a page asking you to provide personal information , including full credit/debit card details . Criminals can then steal Attack.Databreach any information that you supply and use it to hijack your Apple account , commit credit card fraud in your name , and attempt to steal your identity . The Apple Store will never ask you to provide personal details ( such as passwords or credit card numbers ) via email . If you do have a genuine Apple account , you can check it with Apple directly , but do not use any links in the email . Just type the site 's address into your browser . If you receive what you think is a phishing email claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Apple you can forward it to them . Full details are available on the Apple website .

A local resident has reported receiving Attack.Phishing an email claiming to be Attack.Phishing from HMRC that claims that the agency has recalculated their last fiscal activity and determined that they are eligible to receive a tax refund of £684.97 . Similar to the above warning , the fake HMRC email advises Attack.Phishing that you have to click on a link to complete and submit the refund form . This will take you to a fraudulent website that asks you to supply your name , address , and contact details along with other identifying information . The fake HMRC site also asks you to supply your credit card numbers . Supposedly , all of this information is required to allow the processing of your refund claim . In reality , the information you supply will be collected Attack.Databreach by scammers and used to commit fraud and steal your identity . If you have received Attack.Phishing an HMRC related phishing/bogus email , please forward it to : phishing @ hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it . Do not visit the website contained within the email or disclose any personal or payment information . Our advice is to delete this or any other similar messages .

High street banks are losing the battle against fraud as criminals switch tactics to directly target customers . Efforts by lenders to bolster their IT defences against hackers have simply encouraged fraudsters to bombard individual customers with scams , according to Financial Fraud Action UK . Despite investing millions in tackling fraud , losses from fraud rose last year as banks became less effective at preventing scams . Financial Fraud Action UK said this was ‘ largely due to criminals shifting their methods away from using malware attacks on online banking systems , which bank security processes identified ’ . Increasingly , it said , fraudsters are focussing on targeting individuals directly , which is harder for banks to stop . The report said the main ploy used by criminals is the ‘ impersonation and deception scam ’ whereby they pretend to be Attack.Phishing from a ‘ legitimate and trusted organisation ’ such as a bank , the police , a utility company or a government department . These scams typically involve the fraudster contacting Attack.Phishing the customer through a phone call , text message or email . Often the fraudster will claim Attack.Phishing there has been suspicious activity on an account , ask the individual to verify or update their account details , or claim Attack.Phishing they are due a refund . The criminal then attempts to trick Attack.Phishing the target into giving away their personal or financial information , such as passwords , payment card details or bank account information . Financial Fraud Action UK – which represents banks - said its intelligence suggests criminals have also recently increased their focus on ‘ phishing ’ emails claiming to be Attack.Phishing from major online retailers and internet companies . It warned these emails are an ‘ increasingly sophisticated ’ attempt to trick Attack.Phishing recipients into giving away personal and financial details , or into downloading malware software which hacks into their computers . Several banks have been targeted by high profile cyber attacks that have attempted to exploit weaknesses in their IT systems . Last November criminals launched an online attack against Tesco Bank that resulted in the loss of £2.5million from 9,000 accounts . Others to have been targeted include Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest , Lloyds and HSBC . The threat to Britain ’ s financial infrastructure from persistent cyber-attacks prompted chancellor Philip Hammond to commit an extra £1.9billion in the autumn statement to boost Britain ’ s defences against the growing online threat .

The Indiana Department of Revenue ( DOR ) and the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) are warning folks of fraudulent emails impersonating Attack.Phishing either revenue agency and encouraging individuals to open files corrupted with malware . These scam emails use tax transcripts as bait Attack.Phishing to entice Attack.Phishing users to open the attachments . The scam is particularly problematic for businesses or government agencies whose employees open the malware infected attachments , putting the entire network at risk . This software is complex and may take several months to remove . This well-known malware , known as Emotet , generally poses as Attack.Phishing specific banks or financial institutions to trick Attack.Phishing individuals into opening infected documents . It has been described as one of the most costly and destructive malware to date . Emotet is known to constantly evolve , and in the past few weeks has masqueraded as Attack.Phishing the IRS , pretending to be Attack.Phishing “ IRS Online. ” The scam email includes an attachment labeled Attack.Phishing “ Tax Account Transcript ” or something similar , with the subject line often including “ tax transcript. ” Both DOR and IRS have several tips to help individuals and businesses not fall prey to email scams : Remember , DOR and the IRS do not contact customers via email to share sensitive documents such as a tax transcript . Use security software to protect against malware and viruses , and be sure it ’ s up-to-date . Never open emails , attachments or click on links when you ’ re not sure of the source . If an individual is using a personal computer and receives Attack.Phishing an email claiming to be Attack.Phishing the IRS , it is recommended to delete or forward the email to phishing @ irs.gov orto investigations @ dor.in.gov Business receiving these emails should also be sure to contact the company ’ s technology professionals .

If you 've just paid your self-assessment tax bill , be vigilant if you receive an email informing you that you 're due a refund . Fraudsters are targeting taxpayers with spurious emails and text messages pretending to be Attack.Phishing from the government . I received one such email over the weekend , telling me I was due a refund of £222.32 . The email came Attack.Phishing complete with a bogus 'HMRC Transaction Confirmation ' number and a link claiming to be Attack.Phishing to the Government Gateway , which is used to access online government services . Of course , I would just need to click on the bogus link with my 'credit/debit card ready ' so the criminals at the other end of the link could scam Attack.Phishing my cards for as much money as possible . At first glance , it may look fairly convincing - the spelling and grammar is pretty good , it contains plenty of official-looking reference numbers and the web links are at least in part quite similar to the genuine articles . But it 's very definitely a 'phishing ' email - whereby the fraudster sender is trying to hook Attack.Phishing you into providing personal information . In this case , they 're after my credit or debit card numbers . Phishing happens by text message too . Earlier this month HMRC reported people are nine times more likely to fall for text message scams than other types such as email because they can appear more legitimate , with many texts displaying ‘ HMRC ’ as the sender , rather than a phone number . It also said it had 'stopped thousands of taxpayers from receiving scam text messages , with 90 per cent of the most convincing texts now halted before they reach their phones ' . To help you protect yourself and your bank account , there are several warning signs you should always look out for to determine whether such emails and texts are fakes This is in case they contain malware - software with a virus that can read personal information on your computer – or destroy it . The bug is often activated by users inadvertently opening an attachment or clicking on an email link . And it 's not just emails and texts about tax refunds you need to be vigilant towards . A spokesman for Action Fraud told This is Money : 'At this important time in the tax year when people will be claiming refunds , we are warning of fraudsters who contact victims claiming to be Attack.Phishing from HMRC to trick Attack.Phishing them into paying bogus debts and taxes . 'These criminals will contact Attack.Phishing victims in many ways , including spoof calls , voicemails and text messages . And in most cases they will ask for payments in iTunes giftcards . 'It is important that people spot the signs of this type of fraud to protect themselves . 'HMRC will never use text messages to inform about a tax rebate or penalty and will never ask for any payment in the form of iTunes vouchers . '

If you 've just paid your self-assessment tax bill , be vigilant if you receive an email informing you that you 're due a refund . Fraudsters are targeting taxpayers with spurious emails and text messages pretending to be Attack.Phishing from the government . I received one such email over the weekend , telling me I was due a refund of £222.32 . The email came Attack.Phishing complete with a bogus 'HMRC Transaction Confirmation ' number and a link claiming to be Attack.Phishing to the Government Gateway , which is used to access online government services . Of course , I would just need to click on the bogus link with my 'credit/debit card ready ' so the criminals at the other end of the link could scam Attack.Phishing my cards for as much money as possible . At first glance , it may look fairly convincing - the spelling and grammar is pretty good , it contains plenty of official-looking reference numbers and the web links are at least in part quite similar to the genuine articles . But it 's very definitely a 'phishing ' email - whereby the fraudster sender is trying to hook Attack.Phishing you into providing personal information . In this case , they 're after my credit or debit card numbers . Phishing happens by text message too . Earlier this month HMRC reported people are nine times more likely to fall for text message scams than other types such as email because they can appear more legitimate , with many texts displaying ‘ HMRC ’ as the sender , rather than a phone number . It also said it had 'stopped thousands of taxpayers from receiving scam text messages , with 90 per cent of the most convincing texts now halted before they reach their phones ' . To help you protect yourself and your bank account , there are several warning signs you should always look out for to determine whether such emails and texts are fakes This is in case they contain malware - software with a virus that can read personal information on your computer – or destroy it . The bug is often activated by users inadvertently opening an attachment or clicking on an email link . And it 's not just emails and texts about tax refunds you need to be vigilant towards . A spokesman for Action Fraud told This is Money : 'At this important time in the tax year when people will be claiming refunds , we are warning of fraudsters who contact victims claiming to be Attack.Phishing from HMRC to trick Attack.Phishing them into paying bogus debts and taxes . 'These criminals will contact Attack.Phishing victims in many ways , including spoof calls , voicemails and text messages . And in most cases they will ask for payments in iTunes giftcards . 'It is important that people spot the signs of this type of fraud to protect themselves . 'HMRC will never use text messages to inform about a tax rebate or penalty and will never ask for any payment in the form of iTunes vouchers . '

SCAMMERS are using fake websites to lure Attack.Phishing in Cyber Monday and Christmas shoppers and take their money . Be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers on Fingerlings toys , iPhones and fashion as they 're the most common items sold by fraudsters , according to the City of London Police . With shoppers set to spend £2.96billion by the end of Cyber Monday , fraud experts have warned that scammers will tempt Attack.Phishing shoppers with suspiciously good deals so they buy their counterfeit items and hand over their card details . They 'll also set up Attack.Phishing fake websites that look like Attack.Phishing genuine retailers to trick Attack.Phishing people into giving away their data and payment details , according to a new report by Action Fraud and the City of London Police . Phishing emails containing tempting deals which entice Attack.Phishing shoppers to click on links to fake websites are also on the rise on Cyber Monday and over the Christmas period , the report said . Scammers are using social media websites such as Facebook , re-selling websites such as Gumtree and online auction websites such as eBay to target Christmas shoppers , experts revealed . Mobile phones - particularly Apple iPhones - are the most common item that people try to buy from fraudsters , according to the report . Seventy-four per cent of all mobiles bought from fraudsters were iPhones , the study said . Electrical and household items , computers , fashion and accessories are also commonly sold to fraud victims , including Apple MacBooks , Ugg boots and Fingerlings toys - so be wary of `` too good to be true '' offers for these items . Women aged between 20 and 29 are the most likely to be caught out by scammers , according to the report , with 30 per cent of fraud reports coming from young women . But the police have warned that everyone should stay on their guard as anyone can fall victim to Christmas shopping fraudsters . More than 15,000 shoppers lost a total of £11million to scammers over the Christmas period last year . Detective Chief Superintendent Pete O ’ Doherty , of the City of London Police , said : “ Unfortunately , at what is an expensive time of year for many , the internet has provided fraudsters with a platform to lure Attack.Phishing people in with the promise of cheap deals . He added : “ To stop fraudsters in their tracks , be cautious of where and from whom you ’ re buying , especially if it is technology at a reduced price . '' Tony Neate , CEO of Get Safe Online , a free fraud awareness website , said : “ It can be easy to rush into making a quick purchase online to secure a must have gift or bargain without taking the time to check that everything is as it seems . “ But taking a couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with a few simple online safety tips can be the difference between getting all your shopping done in time and becoming a victim of online fraud . '' There are plenty of Black Friday and Cyber Monday scams around at the moment - we 've revealed the latest tricks used by fraudsters . Meanwhile scammers claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Tesco are running a fake competition in an attempt to steal your bank details .

Scammers are flooding the United States with Chinese-language robocalls , causing major headaches from coast to coast . These new robocalls are a lot like the ones you ’ ve already gotten on your phone at all hours of the day and night : Your phone rings , you pick up , and after a brief pause or maybe a quiet click or beep , a prerecorded voice message meets your ears . The recording , which often sounds like a young woman , usually delivers a message about lowering credit-card rates or buying into cheap health insurance . If you fall for the bait Attack.Phishing , you ’ re transferred to a live human who will try anything to get you to hand over your credit-card or bank account info . The important thing to remember is that sales robocalls are illegal in the United States . So , don ’ t expect the person on the other end of the line to follow through on whatever deal they claim to offer . You ’ re much more likely to fall victim to an identity theft scam or credit-card fraud than to score a deal from one of these spam callers . The new Chinese-language version of these calls targets immigrants . The robocalls deliver a recorded message claiming to be Attack.Phishing from the Chinese consulate , saying the recipient is in trouble with Chinese officials , or sometimes that a package is waiting at the Chinese consulate that needs to be picked up . Then , the robocall asks for a deposit or fee , demanding a credit-card number or bank information . Sometimes the robocall or live operator who follows it makes a threat , suggesting that more trouble will come if the person doesn ’ t willingly hand over their financial info , according to the Federal Trade Commission . In New York City alone , police estimate at least 30 residents had been scammed out of $ 3 million , according to National Public Radio . The Chinese Consulate General in New York says it has posted dozens of alerts on its website warning about the scams . `` We would like to restate that the Consulate General in New York would not ask for personal information , deliver parcel pick-up notice or ask people to answer inquiries from police department by way of phone calls . The Consulate General would not ask for bank account information , '' it warned . The scammers are also upping the ante with a tech trick Attack.Phishing called “ spoofing Attack.Phishing . ” Spoofed calls can fake Attack.Phishing caller ID numbers , making them look like Attack.Phishing they ’ re coming from Attack.Phishing a familiar number , nearby area code , your hometown or in this case , the Chinese consulate , according to the Federal Communications Commission , which also issued an alert . So , even if you do n't speak Chinese , why would you get so many calls ? The scammers don ’ t know who they ’ re calling , and it costs virtually nothing to place a phone call , so if they hit a few thousand English-speaking phones for every one Chinese speaker that ’ s totally fine with them . This scam uses many of the same ploys used on unsuspecting English speakers , say in the scam where the caller pretends to be Attack.Phishing from the IRS and is demanding payments on back taxes that don ’ t really exist .

Cybercriminals are finding it more difficult to maintain the malicious URLs and deceptive domains used for phishing attacks Attack.Phishing for more than a few hours because action is being taken to remove them from the internet much more quickly . That does n't mean that phishing Attack.Phishing -- one of the most common means of performing cyber-attacks -- is any less dangerous , but a faster approach to dealing with the issue is starting to hinder attacks . Deceptive domain names look like Attack.Phishing those of authentic services , so that somebody who clicks on a malicious link may not realise they are n't visiting the real website of the organisation being spoofed Attack.Phishing . One of the most common agencies to be imitated Attack.Phishing by cyber-attackers around the world is that of government tax collectors . The idea behind such attacks Attack.Phishing is that people will be tricked Attack.Phishing into believing they are owed money by emails claiming to be Attack.Phishing from the taxman . However , no payment ever comes , and if a victim falls for such an attack , they 're only going to lose money when their bank details are stolen Attack.Databreach , and they can even have their personal information compromised Attack.Databreach . In order to combat phishing Attack.Phishing and other forms of cyber-attack , the UK 's National Cyber Crime Centre -- the internet security arm of GCHQ -- launched what it called the Active Cyber Defence programme a year ago . It appears to have some success in its first 12 months because , despite a rise in registered fraudulent domains , the lifespan of a phishing URL has been reduced and the number of global phishing attacks Attack.Phishing being carried out by UK-hosted sites has declined from five percent to three percent . The figures are laid out in a new NCSC report : Active Cyber Defence - One Year On . During that time , 121,479 phishing sites hosted in the UK , and 18,067 worldwide spoofing Attack.Phishing UK government , were taken down , with many of them purporting to be Attack.Phishing HMRC and linked to phishing emails in the form of tax refund scams . An active approach to dealing with phishing domains has also led to a reduction in the amount of time these sites are active , potentially limiting cybercriminal campaigns before they can gain any real traction . Prior to the launch of the program , the average time a phishing website spoofing Attack.Phishing a UK government website remained active was for 42 hours -- or almost two days . Now , with an approach designed around looking for domains and taking them down , that 's dropped to ten hours , leaving a much smaller window for attacks to be effective . However , while this does mean there 's less time for the attackers to steal Attack.Databreach information or finances , it does n't mean that they 're not successful in carrying out attacks . The increased number of registered domains for carrying out phishing attacks Attack.Phishing shows that crooks are happy to work a little bit harder in order to reap the rewards of campaigns -- and the NCSC is n't under any illusion that the job of protecting internet users is anywhere near complete . `` The ACD programme intends to increase our cyber adversaries ' risk and reduces their return on investment to protect the majority of people in the UK from cyber attacks , '' said Dr Ian Levy , technical director of the NCSC . `` The results we have published today are positive , but there is a lot more work to be done . The successes we have had in our first year will cause attackers to change their behaviour and we will need to adapt . '' A focus on taking down HMRC and other government-related domains has helped UK internet users , but cyber-attacks are n't limited by borders , with many malicious IPs hosted in practically every country used to carry out cyber-attacks around the world -- meaning every country should be playing a part . `` Obviously , phishing Attack.Phishing and web-inject attacks are not connected to the UK 's IP space and most campaigns of these types are hosted elsewhere . There needs to be concerted international effort to have a real effect on the security of users , '' says the report .

Phishing Attack.Phishing is one of the most devious scams for filching your personal information , but experts say it is possible to avoid them if you know what you 're looking for . At its essence , phishing Attack.Phishing is the act of pretending to be Attack.Phishing someone or something you trust in order to trick Attack.Phishing you into entering sensitive data like your user name and password . The goal -- of course -- is to take your money . Some of the most common phishing scams Attack.Phishing are bogus emails purportedly from trustworthy institutions like the U.S.Internal Revenue Service or major banks . The more sophisticated scams are crafted to look very much like Attack.Phishing a legitimate message from a site you do business with . “ Many popular phishing scams Attack.Phishing purport to be Attack.Phishing from shipping companies , e-commerce companies , social networking websites , financial institutions , tax-preparation companies and some of the world ’ s most notable companies , ” said Norton by Symantec senior security response manager Satnam Narang via email . One of the worst cases on record was an aircraft parts CEO who was tricked Attack.Phishing into handing over more than $ 55 million – which shows that phishing scams Attack.Phishing can dupe Attack.Phishing even smart people . Fox News asked Symantec about the top phishing scams Attack.Phishing and how to avoid them . 1 . Your account has been or will be locked , disabled or suspended . `` Scare tactics are a common theme when it comes to phishing scams Attack.Phishing , '' said Narang . `` Claiming a users ’ account has been or will be locked or disabled is a call to action to the user to entice Attack.Phishing them to provide their login credentials . '' 2 . Irregular/fraudulent activity detected or your account requires a `` security '' update . `` Extending off of # 1 , scammers will also claim irregular or fraudulent activity has been detected on your account or that your account has been subjected to a compulsory 'security update ' and you need to login to enable this security update , '' Narang said . 3 . You ’ ve received a secure or important message . `` This type of phishing scam Attack.Phishing is often associated with financial institutions , but we have also seen some claiming to be Attack.Phishing from a popular e-commerce website , '' said Narang . `` Because financial institutions don ’ t send customer details in emails , the premise is that users will be more inclined to click on a link or open an attachment if it claims to be Attack.Phishing a secure or important message . '' 4 . Tax-themed phishing scams Attack.Phishing . `` Each year , tax-themed phishing scams Attack.Phishing crop up before tax-time in the U.S. and other countries , '' Narang added . `` These tax-related themes can vary from updating your filing information , your eligibility to receive a tax refund or warnings that you owe money . One thing that ’ s for sure is that the IRS doesn ’ t communicate via email or text message , they still send snail mail . '' 5 . Attachment-based phishing Attack.Phishing with a variety of themes . `` Another trend we have observed in recent years is that scammers are using the lures Attack.Phishing mentioned above , but instead of providing a link to an external website , they are attaching an HTML page and asking users to open this 'secure page ' that requests login credentials and financial information , '' according to Narang . Avast , which also develop antivirus software and internet security services , offered advice on what to look for . Ransomware , which encrypts data ( i.e. , makes it inaccessible to the user ) , tries to tap into the same fears that phishing Attack.Phishing does . The hope that the “ attacked person will panic , and pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , ” Jonathan Penn , Director of Strategy at Avast , told Fox News .

Staff are still falling for phishing scams Attack.Phishing , with social media friend requests and emails pretending to come from Attack.Phishing the HR department among the ones most likely to fool Attack.Phishing workers into handing over usernames and passwords . Phishing scams Attack.Phishing aim to trick Attack.Phishing staff into handing over data -- normally usernames and passwords -- by posing as Attack.Phishing legitimate email . It 's a technique used by the lowliest criminals as part of ransomware campaigns , right up to state-backed hackers because it continues to be such an effective method . In a review of 100 simulated attack campaigns for 48 of its clients , accounting for almost a million individual users , security company MWR Infosecurity found that sending Attack.Phishing a bogus friend request was the best way to get someone to click on a link -- even when the email was being sent Attack.Phishing to a work email address . Almost a quarter of users clicked the link to be taken through to a fake login screen , with more than half going on to provide a username and password , and four out of five then going on to download a file . A spoof email claiming to be Attack.Phishing from the HR department referring to the appraisal system was also very effective : nearly one in five clicked the link , and three-quarters provided more credentials , with a similar percentage going on to download a file . Some might argue that gaining access Attack.Databreach to a staff email account is of limited use , but the security company argues that this is a handy for an assault . A hacker could dump Attack.Databreach entire mailboxes , access Attack.Databreach file shares , run programs on the compromised user 's device , and access multiple systems , warned MWR InfoSecurity . Even basic security controls , such as two-factor authentication or disabling file and SharePoint remote access , could reduce the risk . The company also reported bad news about the passwords that users handed over : while over 60 percent of passwords were found to have a length of 8 to 10 characters -- the mandatory minimum for many organizations -- the company argued that this illustrates how users stick to minimum security requirements . A third of the passwords consisted of an upper-case first letter , a series of lower-case letters , and then numbers with no symbols . It also found that 13.6 percent of passwords ended with four numbers in the range of 1940 to 2040 . Of those , nearly half ended in 2016 , which means one-in-twenty of all passwords end with the year in which they were created .

The Indiana Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service is warning individuals and businesses about emails that use tax transcripts as bait Attack.Phishing to entice Attack.Phishing users to open attachments . These scams are problematic for businesses or government agencies whose employees open the malware infected attachments , putting the entire network at risk . This well-known malware , known as Emotet , generally poses as Attack.Phishing specific banks or financial institutions to trick Attack.Phishing individuals into opening infected documents . It ’ s been described as one of the most costly and destructive malware to date . Both the DOR and IRS have several tips to help individuals and businesses stay clear of these scams : - The DOR and IRS do not contact customers via email to share sensitive documents such as a tax transcript - Use security software to protect against malware and viruses , and make sure it ’ s up-to-date - Never open emails , attachments , or click on links when you ’ re not sure of the source If you receive Attack.Phishing an email claiming to be Attack.Phishing the IRS , delete it or forward the email to phishing @ irs.gov < mailto : phishing @ irs.gov > . If the email claims to be Attack.Phishing from the DOR forward it to investigations @ dor.in.gov < mailto : investigations @ dor.in.gov > . Emotet is known to constantly evolve , and in the past few weeks has masqueraded as Attack.Phishing the IRS , pretending to be Attack.Phishing “ IRS Online ” . The scam email includes an attachment , with the subject line often including “ tax transcript ” .

Noticed more emails and texts lately claiming to be Attack.Phishing from your bank – and not just yours ? You ’ re not the only one . Action Fraud , the UK police ’ s dedicated fraud tracking team , has revealed a significant increase in reports about phishing attacks Attack.Phishing connected to TSB ’ s massive IT outage have been reported . A total of 176 complaints have been received , or around ten a day since April 30 . “ There has been an uptick in phishing attempts Attack.Phishing across the piece , ” says an Action Fraud spokesperson . TSB ’ s banking meltdown , caused by a botched IT upgrade , still has not been remedied – nearly four weeks on . And the crisis has become paydirt for scammers and hackers , who have waded into a confusing , chaotic situation and are making out with thousands of pounds worth of savings from people ’ s accounts . And it ’ s not just TSB - the number of phishing texts claiming to be Attack.Phishing from other banks such as Barclays and NatWest also seems to be on the rise . “ When a ‘ change ’ goes wrong and so publicly like TSB ’ s , it ’ s like cyber blood in the water , ” explains Ian Thornton-Trump , chief technical officer of Octopi Managed Services , an IT company . “ Cyber criminals pay attention to companies rocked by internal scandals or public ‘ ball drops ’ and react accordingly. ” With the bank ’ s staff overloaded trying to fix the problems that caused the outage in the first place , fraudulent transactions aren ’ t being tracked or checked as quickly as they should be . “ It is a sad fact that fraudsters might try to take advantage of situations like these , ” says a TSB spokesperson . The scammers are using one of the most common tools in their arsenal : phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . They send out Attack.Phishing mass texts and emails to customers – many of whom identify themselves as TSB ’ s customers in increasingly irate social media posts – with links to legitimate-sounding but fraudulent websites . Customers are encouraged to click a link and input their username and password to process their complaints against the company – and lose control of their bank account . Lucy Evans , 23 , is one customer who has had her cash stolen . Her TSB current account was looted , and she ’ s received Attack.Phishing a number of texts purporting to be Attack.Phishing from TSB . She was defrauded Attack.Phishing by a combination of phone calls and texts . “ I think I was targeted whilst we couldn ’ t actually view our money , ” says Evans . “ Criminals are happy to exploit people ’ s misery , whatever form that might take , ” says professor Alan Woodward , a cybersecurity specialist from the University of Surrey . “ Criminals can pretend to be Attack.Phishing the bank and ask customers to undertake strange actions that under normal operations would seem suspicious . Customers might be so delighted to actually be able to access their web banking that they might just let their guard down that little bit more than usual. ” TSB has to act more proactively to shut down fraudulent domains and to make the public more aware of the scams circulating , Woodward argues . “ TSB need to up their game in responding to customers – as that very lack of response can be used to lure customers in. ” For those who have fallen victim , the loss of money is adding insult to injury . “ I ’ m certain I ’ ll move banks , ” says Evans , who lost the contents of her current account . “ Most of the staff have been helpful and apologetic , but this should have been resolved by now . It seems they are not fit for purpose . ”

Noticed more emails and texts lately claiming to be Attack.Phishing from your bank – and not just yours ? You ’ re not the only one . Action Fraud , the UK police ’ s dedicated fraud tracking team , has revealed a significant increase in reports about phishing attacks Attack.Phishing connected to TSB ’ s massive IT outage have been reported . A total of 176 complaints have been received , or around ten a day since April 30 . “ There has been an uptick in phishing attempts Attack.Phishing across the piece , ” says an Action Fraud spokesperson . TSB ’ s banking meltdown , caused by a botched IT upgrade , still has not been remedied – nearly four weeks on . And the crisis has become paydirt for scammers and hackers , who have waded into a confusing , chaotic situation and are making out with thousands of pounds worth of savings from people ’ s accounts . And it ’ s not just TSB - the number of phishing texts claiming to be Attack.Phishing from other banks such as Barclays and NatWest also seems to be on the rise . “ When a ‘ change ’ goes wrong and so publicly like TSB ’ s , it ’ s like cyber blood in the water , ” explains Ian Thornton-Trump , chief technical officer of Octopi Managed Services , an IT company . “ Cyber criminals pay attention to companies rocked by internal scandals or public ‘ ball drops ’ and react accordingly. ” With the bank ’ s staff overloaded trying to fix the problems that caused the outage in the first place , fraudulent transactions aren ’ t being tracked or checked as quickly as they should be . “ It is a sad fact that fraudsters might try to take advantage of situations like these , ” says a TSB spokesperson . The scammers are using one of the most common tools in their arsenal : phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . They send out Attack.Phishing mass texts and emails to customers – many of whom identify themselves as TSB ’ s customers in increasingly irate social media posts – with links to legitimate-sounding but fraudulent websites . Customers are encouraged to click a link and input their username and password to process their complaints against the company – and lose control of their bank account . Lucy Evans , 23 , is one customer who has had her cash stolen . Her TSB current account was looted , and she ’ s received Attack.Phishing a number of texts purporting to be Attack.Phishing from TSB . She was defrauded Attack.Phishing by a combination of phone calls and texts . “ I think I was targeted whilst we couldn ’ t actually view our money , ” says Evans . “ Criminals are happy to exploit people ’ s misery , whatever form that might take , ” says professor Alan Woodward , a cybersecurity specialist from the University of Surrey . “ Criminals can pretend to be Attack.Phishing the bank and ask customers to undertake strange actions that under normal operations would seem suspicious . Customers might be so delighted to actually be able to access their web banking that they might just let their guard down that little bit more than usual. ” TSB has to act more proactively to shut down fraudulent domains and to make the public more aware of the scams circulating , Woodward argues . “ TSB need to up their game in responding to customers – as that very lack of response can be used to lure customers in. ” For those who have fallen victim , the loss of money is adding insult to injury . “ I ’ m certain I ’ ll move banks , ” says Evans , who lost the contents of her current account . “ Most of the staff have been helpful and apologetic , but this should have been resolved by now . It seems they are not fit for purpose . ”

Criminals are attempting to trick Attack.Phishing consumers into handing over passwords and credit card details by taking advantage of the flood of emails being sent out Attack.Phishing ahead of new European privacy legislation . The European Union 's new General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) come into force on 25 May and the policy is designed to give consumers more control over their online data . As a result , in the run-up to it , organisations are sending out Attack.Phishing messages to customers to gain their consent for remaining on their mailing lists . With so many of these messages being sent out Attack.Phishing , it was perhaps only a matter of time before opportunistic cybercriminals looked to take advantage of the deluge of messages about GDPR and privacy policies arriving in people 's inboxes . A GDPR-related phishing scam Attack.Phishing uncovered by researchers at cyber security firm Redscan is doing just this in an effort to steal data with emails claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Airbnb . The attackers appear to be Attack.Phishing targeting business email addresses , which suggests the messages are sent Attack.Phishing to emails scraped from the web . The phishing message addresses the user as an Airbnb host and claims Attack.Phishing they 're not able to accept new bookings or send Attack.Phishing messages to prospective guests until a new privacy policy is accepted . `` This update is mandatory because of the new changes in the EU Digital privacy legislation that acts upon United States based companies , like Airbnb in order to protect European citizens and companies , '' the message says , and the recipient is urged Attack.Phishing to click a link to accept the new privacy policy . Those who click the link are asked to enter their personal information , including account credentials and payment card information . If the user enters these , they 're handing the data straight into the hands of criminals who can use it for theft , identity fraud , selling on the dark web and more . `` The irony wo n't be lost on anyone that cybercriminals are exploiting the arrival of new data protection regulations to steal Attack.Databreach people 's data , '' said Mark Nicholls , Director of Cyber Security at Redscan . `` Scammers know that people are expecting exactly these kinds of emails this month and that they are required to take action , whether that 's clicking a link or divulging personal data . It 's a textbook phishing campaign Attack.Phishing in terms of opportunistic timing and having a believable call to action '' . Airbnb is sending messages to users about GDPR , but the messages contain far more detail and do n't ask the users to enter any credentials , merely agree to the new Terms of Service . While the phishing messages might look legitimate at first glance , it 's worth noting they do n't use the right domain - the fake messages come from Attack.Phishing ' @ mail.airbnb.work ' as opposed to ' @ airbnb.com ' . Redscan has warned that attackers are likely to use GDPR as bait Attack.Phishing for other phishing scams Attack.Phishing , with messages claiming to be Attack.Phishing from other well-known companies . `` As we get closer to the GDPR implementation deadline , I think we can expect to see a lot a lot more of these types of phishing scams Attack.Phishing over the next few weeks , that 's for sure , '' said Nicholls , who warned attackers could attempt to use the ploy to deliver malware in future . `` In the case of the Airbnb scam email , hackers were attempting to harvest Attack.Databreach credentials . Attack vectors do vary however and it 's possible that other attacks may attempt to infect hosts with keyloggers or ransomware , for example . '' he said . Airbnb said those behind the attacks have n't accessed Attack.Databreach user details in order to send Attack.Phishing emails and that users who receive Attack.Phishing a suspicious message claiming to be Attack.Phishing from Airbnb should send it to their safety team . `` These emails are a brazen attempt at using our trusted brand to try and steal Attack.Databreach user 's details , and have nothing to do with Airbnb . We 'd encourage anyone who has received Attack.Phishing a suspicious looking email to report it to our Trust and Safety team on report.phishing @ airbnb.com , who will fully investigate , '' an Airbnb spokesperson told ZDNet . Airbnb also provided information on how to spot a fake email to help users to determine if a message is genuine or not .