Hacker group “ Charming Kitten ” used false identities to ferret out information , says Israel-based cybersecurity firm ClearSky An Iranian cyber espionage group known as Charming Kitten is believed to be behind a campaign targeting academic researchers , human rights activists , media outlets and political advisors focusing on Iran , according to a report published earlier this week by Israel-based threat intelligence company ClearSky Cyber Security . The group has also set up Attack.Phishing a news outlet called The British News Agency to lure Attack.Phishing targets in . Most of the group 's targets are in Iran , the U.S. , Israel and the U.K. , the report said , but some come from countries including France , Germany , Switzerland , Denmark , India , Turkey and the United Arab Emirates . The report detailed the various methods used to gain access Attack.Databreach to computers and private social accounts . Those include false identities , the impersonation Attack.Phishing of real companies , the insertion of malicious code into a breached website , also known as `` watering hole attacks , '' and spear phishing Attack.Phishing , the process of pretending to be Attack.Phishing service providers like Gmail or Facebook to trick Attack.Phishing people into giving out personal information . A significant mainstay of the group 's activity was the establishment of a media outlet called The British News Agency . Much effort went into creating Attack.Phishing a seemingly legitimate website , including details about the agency and a contact list of the management team . The purpose of the site was to attract Attack.Phishing the targets and infect them with malware . According to the report , multiple Israeli researchers of Iran and the Middle East were sent Attack.Phishing emails and Twitter direct messages from accounts registered with seemingly Jewish Israeli names . Messages coming from Attack.Phishing one such account were presented as if coming from Attack.Phishing a journalist and political researcher at KNBC News . Other messages were presented as if coming from Attack.Phishing an Israeli political researcher raised in California who needed help with an article and also wanted to apply for a position at an Israeli university . Another message was described as coming from Attack.Phishing a Jewish girl living in Iran . These messages often linked to phishing pages . ClearSky can not estimate how many accounts were successfully infiltrated , but the success rate for such attacks is usually around 10 % , said Mr. Dolev .

Saudi Arabian security officials said on Monday that the country had been targeted as part of a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign observed since February against five Middle East nations as well as several countries outside the region . The Saudi government ’ s National Cyber Security Center ( NCSC ) said in a statement the kingdom had been hit by a hacking campaign bearing the technical hallmarks of an attack group dubbed “ MuddyWater ” by U.S. cyber firm Palo Alto Networks . Palo Alto ’ s Unit 42 threat research unit published a report last Friday showing how a string of connected attacks Attack.Phishing this year used decoy documents with official-looking government logos to lure Attack.Phishing unsuspecting users from targeted organizations to download infected documents and compromise their computer networks . Documents pretending to be Attack.Phishing from the U.S.National Security Agency , Iraqi intelligence , Russian security firm Kaspersky and the Kurdistan regional government were among those used to trick Attack.Phishing victims , Unit 42 said in a blog post ( goo.gl/SvwrXv ) . The Unit 42 researchers said the attacks Attack.Phishing had targeted organizations in Saudi Arabia , Iraq , the United Arab Emirates , Turkey and Israel , as well as entities outside the Middle East in Georgia , India , Pakistan and the United States . The Saudi security agency said in its own statement that the attacks Attack.Databreach sought to steal Attack.Databreach data from computers using email phishing techniques targeting the credentials of specific users . The NCSC said they also comprised so-called “ watering hole ” attacks , which seek to trick Attack.Phishing users to click on infected web links to seize control of their machines . The technical indicators supplied by Unit 42 are the same as those described by the NCSC as being involved in attacks against Saudi Arabia . The NCSC said the attacks appeared to be by an “ advanced persistent threat ” ( APT ) group - cyber jargon typically used to describe state-backed espionage . Saudi Arabia has been the target of frequent cyber attacks , including the “ Shamoon ” virus , which cripples computers by wiping their disks and has hit both government ministries and petrochemical firms . Saudi Aramco , the world ’ s largest oil company , was hit by an early version of the “ Shamoon ” virus in 2012 , in the country ’ s worst cyber attack to date . The NCSC declined further comment on the source of the attack or on which organizations or agencies were targeted . Unit 42 said it was unable to identify the attack group or its aims and did not have enough data to conclude that the MuddyWater group was behind the Saudi attacks as outlined by NCSC . “ We can not confirm that the NCSC posting and our MuddyWater research are in fact related , ” Christopher Budd , a Unit 42 manager told Reuters . “ There ’ s just not enough information to make that connection with an appropriate level of certainty. ” Palo Alto Networks said the files it had uncovered were almost identical to information-stealing documents disguised as Attack.Phishing Microsoft Word files and found to be targeting the Saudi government by security firm MalwareBytes in a September report .

ESET Ireland warns of an authentic looking phishing scam email , pretending to come Attack.Phishing from Vodafone . The cybercriminals are up to their old tricks even in the new year . An email , pretending to be Attack.Phishing from Vodafone has been spamming Irish mailboxes with a phishing attempt Attack.Phishing . The email reads : Dear Valued Customer , Just a quick reminder that you need to pay for your Vodafone service . Pay now to avoid service restriction or suspension . Your monthly bill for NETVIGATOR service has been issued . We have proceeded autopay payment according to your credit card information . However , such autopay payment is not successful . Your account is now overdue , so unless you ’ ve already paid in the last few days here ’ s what you need to do next . To check the total amount owing , please visit MyAccount To avoid suspension of service , please settle the above amount before 04 Jan 2017 . Log In To MyAccount https : //www.vodafone.ie/myv/services/Process For details regarding the payment rejection , please contact your bank directly . It ’ s important that you make full payment of the outstanding amount to avoid restriction or suspension of your service . Please remember that if we suspend your service you ’ ll need to pay a reconnection fee . We ’ ll also apply all regular service charges until your service is cancelled . To help you manage your services , a number of online tools are available . You can pay your bill and track your usage through MyAccount and our 24×7 App . While the email is made to look very convincing Attack.Phishing , with all the Vodafone logos and overall appearance , all the links in the email lead to a fake website , registered in Mexico , which tries to trick Attack.Phishing the user into submitting their account info and payment details . If you have received such an email , flag it as spam and delete it . Do not click any of the links in it .

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 .

People are still falling for fake sites pretending to be Attack.Phishing Facebook , research from Kaspersky Labs suggests . In 2018 thus far , the Russian security company blocked “ 3.7 million attempts to visit fraudulent social network pages ” . Notably , 58.7 % of these attacks were attempting to direct users to fake FB pages . That ’ s a pretty substantial slice of the pie , considering that VKontakte — Russia ’ s version of Facebook — was responsible for 20.8 % , and LinkedIn 12.9 % . “ At the beginning of the year , Facebook was the most popular social networking brand for fraudsters to abuse , and Facebook pages were frequently faked Attack.Phishing by cybercriminals to try and steal Attack.Databreach personal data via phishing attacks , ” the company states in a press release . The main targets for these attacks include “ global internet portals and the financial sector , including banks , payment services and online stores , ” Kaspersky adds . The firm also suggests that this is nothing new . “ Last year Facebook was one of the top three most exploited company names . The schemes are numerous , but fairly standard : the user is asked to ‘ verify ’ an account or lured Attack.Phishing into signing into a phishing site on the promise of interesting content , ” it reveals . The company also noted that South America suffered the most phishing attacks Attack.Phishing in 2018 thus far . “ Brazil was the country with the largest share of users attacked Attack.Phishing by phishers in the first quarter of 2018 ( 19 % ) , ” it revealed . It was followed by Argentina , Venezuela , and Albania — all at 13 % .

The Internal Revenue Service today warned the public of a tax transcript scheme via a surge of fraudulent emails impersonating Attack.Phishing the IRS . The emails offer Attack.Phishing tax transcripts , or the summary of a tax return , as bait Attack.Phishing to entice Attack.Phishing users to open documents containing malware . The scam email carries an attachment labeled “ Tax Account Transcript ” or something similar , and the subject line uses some variation of the phrase “ tax transcript. ” The IRS said the scam Attack.Phishing is especially problematic for businesses whose employees might open the malware because it can spread throughout the network and potentially take months to successfully remove . Known as Emotet , the well-known malware generally poses as Attack.Phishing specific banks and financial institutions in its effort to trick Attack.Phishing people into opening infected documents . However , in the past few weeks , the scam Attack.Phishing has been masquerading as Attack.Phishing the IRS , pretending to be Attack.Phishing from “ IRS Online. ” The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team ( US-CERT ) issued a warning in July about earlier versions of the Emotet in Alert ( TA18-201A ) Emotet Malware . US-CERT has labeled the Emotet Malware “ among the most costly and destructive malware affecting state , local , tribal , and territorial ( SLTT ) governments , and the private and public sectors. ” The IRS reminds taxpayers it does not send unsolicited emails to the public , nor would it email a sensitive document such as a tax transcript . Taxpayers should not open the email or the attachment . If using a personal computer , delete or forward the scam email to phishing @ irs.gov . If seen while using an employer ’ s computer , notify 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 . '

The email didn ’ t just seem innocent , it also seemed familiar to the accounts payable employee at MacEwan University in Edmonton . It was from one of the local construction firms the public institution deals with , logo and all . There was new bank account information —could accounts payable please change it ? The staff and this supposed vendor communicated back and forth , from late June until a few weeks ago , in early August . One university employee was involved in this correspondence at first ; two more were added . Then vendor payments went through , as scheduled : $ 1.9 million from MacEwan accounts on August 10 . Another $ 22,000 were transferred seven days later . Finally , $ 9.9 million went to this new bank account on August 19 , a Saturday . Wednesday morning , for the first time in this episode , came a phone call . The Edmonton-area vendor wanted to know why it never got its payments . The massive fraud had already been perpetrated , $ 11.8 million winding its way into a TD bank account in Montreal and much of it then wired overseas , a university spokesman says . Investigators have traced $ 11.4 million of the money and frozen the suspect accounts in Quebec and Hong Kong . The school is pursuing civil legal action to recover the money . “ The status of the balance of the funds is unknown at the time , ” a MacEwan statement said about the other $ 400,000 . There ’ s likely not a person reading this online who hasn ’ t received a phishing attack Attack.Phishing , in which someone pretending to be Attack.Phishing a bank sends Attack.Phishing an email or text message , hoping to trick Attack.Phishing you into enter or re-enter account information or a credit card number . What hit MacEwan was a spear phishing attack Attack.Phishing , in which scammers impersonate Attack.Phishing a client or associate of the individual . In this case , the fraudster had cut-and-pasted the actual vendor ’ s logo , MacEwan spokesman David Beharry said . A phishing attacker will often cast several lures Attack.Phishing ; in this case , investigators said 14 different Edmonton-area construction sites or firms were impersonated Attack.Phishing as part of this attempt . The successful trick Attack.Phishing led to financial transfers equivalent to more than five per cent of the publicly funded school ’ s 2016 operating budget , according to records . This inflicted vastly more damage than the last well-documented online scam to successfully target an Alberta post-secondary school : last year , University of Calgary paid Attack.Ransom $ 20,000 in what ’ s known as a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , in which cyberattackers manage to lock or encrypt network data until the victim pays up Attack.Ransom . While MacEwan is confident it can recoup the amounts already frozen , it will also incur legal fees on three continents as it tries to do so , Beharry says . Edmonton ’ s second-largest university knew enough about this problem to launch its own phishing awareness campaign last school year for staff and students , posters and all . Now , the school itself will become a cautionary tale about the perils and pratfalls of spear phishing cyberattacks Attack.Phishing . With this ugly incident , MacEwan University becomes a cautionary tale of another sort : financial controls . These were not high-level employees ensnared by this phishing attack Attack.Phishing , the school spokesman says , though he did not identify them or clarify how the three employees were involved . From now on , one fraud and $ 11.8 million later , such vendor banking information changes will need to go through a second and third level of approval at MacEwan before the final clicks or keystrokes occur .

As thousands of freshmen move into their dorms for the first time , there are plenty of thoughts rushing through their minds : their first time away from home , what cringey nickname they 're gon na try to make a thing , if there are any parties before orientation kicks off . One thing that probably is n't on their minds is whether they 're going to get hacked . But that 's all Carnegie Mellon University 's IT department thinks about . Back-to-school season means hordes of vulnerable computers arriving on campus . The beginning of the semester is the most vulnerable time for a campus network , and every year , with new students coming in , schools have to make sure everything runs smoothly . Carnegie Mellon 's network gets hit with 1,000 attacks a minute -- and that 's on a normal day . Cybersecurity is an increasingly important aspect of our everyday lives , with technology playing a massive role in nearly everything we do . Universities have been vulnerable to attacks Attack.Databreach in the past , with cybercriminals stealing Attack.Databreach student and faculty databases and hackers vandalizing university websites . Students are often targets for hackers , even before they 're officially enrolled . Considering how much money flows into a university from tuition costs , along with paying for room and board , criminals are looking to cash in on weak campus cybersecurity . A bonus for hackers : Admissions offices often hold data with private information like student Social Security numbers and addresses , as well as their families ' data from financial aid applications . Phishing Attack.Phishing happens when hackers steal Attack.Databreach your passwords by sending Attack.Phishing you links to fake websites that look like Attack.Phishing the real deal . It 's how Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee during the presidential election , and it 's a popular attack to use on universities as well . The latest warning , sent Monday , called out malware hidden in a document pretending to be Attack.Phishing from Syracuse University 's chancellor . Digging through my old emails , I found about 20 phishing Attack.Phishing warnings that had gone out during the four years I 'd been there . Syracuse declined to comment on phishing attacks Attack.Phishing against the school , but in a 2016 blog post , it said the attacks were `` getting more frequent , cunning and malicious . '' The school is not alone . Duo Security , which protects more than 400 campuses , found that 70 percent of universities in the UK have fallen victim to phishing attacks Attack.Phishing . Syracuse , which uses Duo Security , fights phishing attacks Attack.Phishing with two-factor authentication , which requires a second form of identity verification , like a code sent to your phone . But it just rolled out the feature last year . Kendra Cooley , a security analyst at Duo Security , pointed out that students are more likely to fall for phishing attacks Attack.Phishing because they have n't been exposed to them as frequently as working adults have . Also , cybercriminals know how to target young minds . `` You see a lot of click-bait phishing messages like celebrity gossip or free travel , '' Cooley said . All students at Carnegie Mellon are required to take a tech literacy course , in which cybersecurity is a focus , said Mary Ann Blair , the school 's chief information security officer . The school also runs monthly phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing : If a student or faculty member falls Attack.Phishing for the friendly trap Attack.Phishing , they 're redirected to a training opportunity . When your network is being hit with at least two phishing attempts Attack.Phishing a day , Blair said , it 's a crucial precaution to keep students on guard . `` It 's just constantly jiggling the doorknobs to see if they 're unlocked , '' Blair said . `` A lot of it is automated attacks . '' It 's not just the thousands of new students that have university IT departments bracing for impact , it 's also their gadgets . `` All these kids are coming on campus , and you do n't know the security level of their devices , and you ca n't manage it , because it 's theirs , '' said Dennis Borin , a senior solutions architect at security company EfficientIP . A lot of university IT teams have their hands tied because they ca n't individually go to every student and scan all their computers . Borin 's company protects up to 75 campuses across the United States , and it 's always crunch time at the beginning of the semester . `` If I was on campus , I would n't let anybody touch my device , '' Borin said . `` So if somebody has malware on their device , how do you protect against an issue like that ? '' Instead of going through every single student , Borin said , his company just casts a wide net over the web traffic . If there 's any suspicious activity coming from a specific device , they 're able to send warnings to the student and kick him or her off the network when necessary . Keeping school networks safe is important for ensuring student life runs smoothly . A university that had only two people on its team reached out to EfficientIP after it suffered an attack . All of the school 's web services were down for an entire week while recovering from the attack , Borin said . Scam artists love to take advantage of timing , and the back-to-school season is a great opportunity for them . There was an influx of fake ransomware protection apps when WannaCry hit Attack.Ransom , as well as a spike in phony Pokemon Go apps stuffed with malware during the height of the game 's popularity . If there 's a massive event going on , you can bet people are flooding the market with phony apps to trick Attack.Phishing victims into downloading viruses . A quick search for `` back to school apps '' in August found 1,182 apps that were blacklisted for containing malware or spyware , according to security firm RiskIQ . Researchers from the company scanned 120 mobile app stores , including the Google Play store , which had more than 300 blacklisted apps . They found apps for back-to-school tools ; themes and wallpapers for your device ; and some apps that promised to help you `` cheat on your exams . '' Though most of the blacklisted apps are poorly made games , others pretend to help you be a better student . Other warning signs to watch out for when it comes to sketchy apps are poorly written reviews and developers using public domain emails for contacts , Risk IQ said . For any educational apps , like Blackboard Learn , you should always check the sources and look for the official versions . New students coming to school have enough to worry about . Let 's hope a crash course in cybersecurity is enough to ensure they make it to graduation without getting hit by hacks .

There ’ s a new scam on the block and over 200 people have already been hit . Here ’ s what you need to know about the TV Licence con . Action Fraud is warning that criminals are sending out Attack.Phishing emails pretending to be Attack.Phishing from TV Licensing . The watchdog says it has already received over 200 reports about the phishing scam Attack.Phishing . The email lures Attack.Phishing you in by saying you are owed a refund on your TV Licence payments . But , it ’ s a con and all the senders are really after is your bank details . What does the email say ? So far all the emails have been the same . They say : “ This is an official notification from TV Licensing ! “ We would like to notify you that , after the last annual calculation we have determined that you are eligible to receive a TV Licensing refund of 85.07 GBP . “ Due to invalid account details records , we were unable to credit your account . Please fill in the TV Licensing refund request and allow us 5-6 working days to the amount to be credited to your account. ” All this is untrue . If you receive this email the best thing to do is report it to Action Fraud and then delete it . Do not click on any links within the email . “ A small number of our customers have received Attack.Phishing scam email messages saying they are due a refund , ” a spokesperson for TV Licensing has said . “ A link directs Attack.Phishing customers to a fake version of the official TV Licensing website which asks them to enter personal information and bank details . “ If you receive a similar email message please delete it . If you have already clicked the link , do not enter or submit any information . TV Licensing never sends refund information by email and is investigating the source of the fraud. ” While these emails are a scam they carry an element of truth – you might be due a refund from TV Licensing . There are a number of ways you can avoid paying the full licence fee . If you are a student you are entitled to a £37 discount on the £147.50 colour TV licence . You can also apply for a refund if you ’ ve paid for a TV Licence beyond your 75th birthday . Anyone over the age of 75 is entitled to watch TV for free . TV Licences apply to households not individuals so if anyone if your household is a student , or over 75 then you all get the benefit of their discount . Similarly , if someone in your house is severely visually impaired they are entitled to a half-price TV licence . You can apply for a refund via the official TV Licensing Website .

A NEW DVLA car tax scam Attack.Phishing is doing the rounds online which could see motorists duped Attack.Phishing into entering sensitive information and being ripped off by criminals . Here ’ s what to do if you receive this message . DVLA car tax scam are not a new thing and every couple of months a new one does the rounds . Criminals pose as Attack.Phishing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in a bid to extort motorists of their cash by requesting this bank details . These crooks usually try to achieve this by threatening a monetary punishment of some sort or in other cases by stating that the driver is entitled to a refund . The problem for some motorists could fall Attack.Phishing for the fraudulent messages especially as they often look fairly professional and can even contain the logo of the DVLA Motorists Jason Price , however , was not fooled Attack.Phishing by the latest attempt by fraudsters trying to get him to hand over his details . Mr Price tweeted a link to the email that he received Attack.Phishing from the criminal pretending to be Attack.Phishing the DVLA . The subject of the email is “ You are not up-to-date with your vehicle tax ” followed by a bogus item reference number , which presumably is to , in some way , make the email seem more legitimate . The contents of the email claim that the driver is not up to date with their vehicle tax and states that this is their ‘ last chance ’ to pay the remainder of the fee . It reads : “ Our records show that you are not up-to-date with your vehicle tax . “ This is a reminder ( V11 ) and a ‘ last chance ’ warning letter from us . “ Tax your car , motorcycle or other vehicle today to avoid unpleasant consequences . “ You must tax your vehicle even if you don ’ t have to pay anything , for example if you ’ re exempt because you ’ re disabled . “ You ’ ll need to meet all the legal obligations for drivers before you can drive. ” It also states that “ You can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not renew your car tax ” The DVLA has issued numerous warnings to customers in the past about how it will never contact the motorist in this way . “ # SCAM WARNING : We 're reminding customers that the only official place to find our services and information is on http : //GOV.UK “ Cyber scams are common so we want to help our customers to spot fraudulent activity. ” If you receive an email or message like this you should either report it or instantly delete it and not click the link in the message . If you ’ re unsure on the validity of a message then you can ring the licensing agency .

Email is great for keeping in touch with friends and family and quickly conversing with colleagues but it ’ s not without its pitfalls . Scammers approach Attack.Phishing people via email to encourage them to hand over private or sensitive information about themselves or the company they work for . “ The most prevalent threats we see targeting consumers today are phishing attacks Attack.Phishing predominantly via email , where scammers try to trick Attack.Phishing people into sharing private information or access to money , ” Jessica Brookes , director of EMEA consumer at McAfee , told the Press Association . “ The first thing you should know about phishing Attack.Phishing is that it almost always involves a form of ‘ social engineering ’ , in which the scammer tries to manipulate Attack.Phishing you into trusting them for fraudulent purposes , often by pretending to be Attack.Phishing a legitimate person or business . Secondly , if an email doesn ’ t seem legitimate , it probably isn ’ t ; it ’ s always better to be safe than sorry. ” Here are four of the most popular scams circulating today : 1 ) The CEO Scam This scam Attack.Phishing appears as Attack.Phishing an email from a leader in your organisation , asking for highly sensitive information like company accounts or employee salaries . The hackers fake Attack.Phishing the boss ’ s email address so it looks like Attack.Phishing a legitimate internal company email . That ’ s what makes this scam so convincing – the lure is that you want to do your job and please your boss . But keep this scam in mind if you receive an email asking for confidential or highly sensitive information , and ask the apparent sender directly whether the request is real , before responding . 2 ) The Lucky Email How fortunate ! You ’ ve won a free gift , an exclusive service , or a great deal on a trip abroad . Just remember , whatever “ limited time offer ” you ’ re being sold , it ’ s probably a phishing scam Attack.Phishing designed to get you to give up your credit card number or identity information . The lure here is something free or exciting at what appears to be little or no cost to you . 3 ) The Urgent Email Attachment Phishing emails that try to trick Attack.Phishing you into downloading a dangerous attachment that can potentially infect your computer and steal your private information have been around for a long time . This is because they work . You ’ ve probably received emails asking you to download attachments confirming a package delivery , trip itinerary or prize . They might urge you to “ respond immediately ” . The lure Attack.Phishing here is offering you something you want , and invoking a sense of urgency to get you to click . 4 ) The Romance Scam This one can happen completely online , over the phone , or in person once initial contact is established . But the romance scam always starts with someone supposedly looking for love . The scammer often poses as Attack.Phishing a friend-of-a-friend via email and contacts you directly . But what starts as the promise of love or partnership , often leads to requests for money or pricey gifts . The scammer will sometimes spin a hardship story , saying they need to borrow money to come visit you or pay their phone bill so they can stay in touch . The lure here is simple – love and acceptance . Brookes added : “ It is everyone ’ s responsibility to be aware and educate each other – we need to share knowledge and collaborate to protect ourselves against the current threats we face as people living in a connected world . ”

The IRS , state tax agencies and the nation ’ s tax industry urge people to be on the lookout for new , sophisticated email phishing scams Attack.Phishing that could endanger their personal information and next year ’ s tax refund . The most common way for cybercriminals to steal Attack.Databreach bank account information , passwords , credit cards or social security numbers is to simply ask for them . Every day , people fall victim to phishing scams Attack.Phishing that cost them their time and their money . Those emails urgently warning users to update their online financial accounts—they ’ re fake . That email directing users to download a document from a cloud-storage provider ? Fake . Those other emails suggesting the recipients have a $ 64 tax refund waiting at the IRS or that the IRS needs information about insurance policies—also fake . So are many new and evolving variations of these schemes . The Internal Revenue Service , state tax agencies and the tax community are marking National Tax Security Awareness Week with a series of reminders to taxpayers and tax professionals . Phishing attacks Attack.Phishing use email or malicious websites to solicit personal , tax or financial information by posing as Attack.Phishing a trustworthy organization . Often , recipients are fooled Attack.Phishing into believing the phishing Attack.Phishing communication is from someone they trust . A scam artist may take advantage of knowledge gained from online research and earlier attempts to masquerade as Attack.Phishing a legitimate source , including presenting the look and feel of authentic communications , such as using an official logo . These targeted messages can trick Attack.Phishing even the most cautious person into taking action that may compromise sensitive data . The scams may contain emails with hyperlinks that take users to a fake site . Other versions contain PDF attachments that may download malware or viruses . Some phishing emails will appear to come from Attack.Phishing a business colleague , friend or relative . These emails might be an email account compromise . Criminals may have compromised Attack.Databreach your friend ’ s email account and begin using their email contacts to send Attack.Phishing phishing emails . Not all phishing attempts Attack.Phishing are emails , some are phone scams . One of the most common phone scams is the caller pretending to be Attack.Phishing from the IRS and threatening the taxpayer with a lawsuit or with arrest if payment is not made immediately , usually through a debit card . Phishing attacks Attack.Phishing , especially online phishing scams Attack.Phishing , are popular with criminals because there is no fool-proof technology to defend against them . Users are the main defense . When users see a phishing scam Attack.Phishing , they should ensure they don ’ t take the bait Attack.Phishing .

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 .

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 ” .