SCAM in emails

[mrsswordfisherman]

Thanks to Johndory for passing this on for raiders to be aware of.

Please be aware of a new ransomware email that has gone feral today!

Below is a screenshot of email (it’s only a screen shot so it’s safe to view).

Below that, is the official AFP media release warning of this emails severity.

If you see mail with a subject line Traffic Infringement Notice or from sender Australian Federal Police Please just delete it and do not click on any links.

Media Release; AFP warns public of email Traffic Infringement scam

Release Date: Tuesday, April 28 2015, 12:31 PM

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is urgently warning the public of an email scam currently circulating throughout Australia and internationally that requests payment for a bogus AFP Traffic Infringement Notice.

The scam email initially asks the recipient to pay an ‘AFP fine’ of approximately $150. If links within the message are clicked, the recipient’s computer is infected with malware which renders it inoperable.

At that point ransomware is activated where the recipient is asked to pay thousands of dollars to reactivate their computer.

AFP National Coordinator Cyber Crime Adrian Norris has said anyone who receives the email should delete it immediately.

“This email has taken off widely today and looks legitimate, and many people have been compromised, so I would urge people to be vigilant,” Superintendent Norris said.

“The AFP never sends out traffic infringement notices via email, so if you have received an email that purports to be from the AFP and have doubt about its authenticity, do not make a payment or provide personal details.

“This email scam looks legitimate and contains AFP branding and may be from email addresses like TrafficInfringement.afp.org, TrafficInfringement.afp.com. or similar.

“Payment of this Traffic Infringement Notice will not go to the AFP, your money will be going to scammers overseas.”

Superintendent Norris said this was a timely reminder to ensure your anti-virus software is current and those who may have received the email to consider running a virus scan of their computer in case it has been infected.

Members of the public who believe they have been a recipient of the fraudulent email should report it to the Australian Cyber Crime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) immediately via http://www.acorn.gov.au/ or to ScamWatch http://www.scamwatch.gov.au

[antonywardle]

Things to look for in email scams.

It should be sent to you and have your name in it

like Dear Mrs Swordfisherman and not dear sir/madam

The spelling should be 100%

If you put your mouse over any links then it should show you where

it wants to take you, and that should be the name of the company

that sent you the email

If some of the above are missing then be suspicious, very suspicious!

Common ones I see are your paypal account has been suspended

My bank account needs to be confirmed, my visa card has suspicious

activity.

I've found the best way to avoid them is to use webmail and not

an email client like outlook. I use gmail and not very much gets through

to me. You do need to check the spam folder from time to time

because some legitimate ones can turn up there.

There are a few good computer people on here that will be more than happy

to help out a raider. If you aren't sure, ask, and if you are a bit embarrassed, then send me a PM ;-)

I've seen all sorts of issues and I never tease you about it, well not too much ;-)

Edited April 28, 2015 by antonywardle

[JohnDory]

Thanks for posting Donna,

Not being a ambulance chaser here, as this is a nasty email doing the rounds. Very similar to the Encrypto Virus of late last year.

It WILL over write any drives connected to your PC.

It WILL over write any drives connected to your network that you have access to.

Just don't click in the body of the email if you receive it and delete it and your safe, click on any internal link you are screwed.

(I have a nights work restoring my works network from backed up drives thanks to a unwary user, His PC is DEAD and not coming back)

Also a good reminder if you do backup regularly as you should and DO NOT LEAVE that backup connected to your PC, as it will be overwritten from this unrecoverable encryption as well.

JD