As the countdown to Christmas edges closer, you may be waiting on lots of last-minute online deliveries.
More often than not these will be delivered by different courier companies and you may be getting regular notifications updating you on time slots and expected ETA.
It can be hard to keep track of all these online updates and this provides cybercriminals with the perfect cover to launch their mass phishing scams. The crooks know that people are sending lots of packages to friends or families or expecting the delivery of parcels themselves.
Victims will receive emails from what appears to be a legitimate courier company informing them that they’ve missed the delivery of a parcel and to click on a link to select a new delivery time.
The emails will often request urgent action in order for the delivery to arrive in time for Christmas. The fraudsters know exactly how to play on our human emotions to elicit a response. The fear of our present not arriving on time is often enough to prompt immediate action.
Upon clicking the link to select a new delivery time, you may be taken to a phishing website that will steal all your personal details or your computer could be infected with malware. One small lapse in judgement could have devastating consequences.
To avoid falling for this common Christmas phishing scam you should never click on suspicious links or download attachments from unknown sources. Other signs to look out for include; poor grammar, a mismatched URL, threatening or urgent language, claims of prizes or a request for information.
MetaPhish provides a powerful defence against phishing and ransomware attacks by training employees how to identify and respond appropriately to these threats. Get in touch for further information on how we can help protect your business.
