MailGuard Blog

Q&A with Craig McDonald, CEO & Founder, MailGuard

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Two weeks on, and we are seeing technology at its best and worst. Technology is all around us, and as business leaders and tech partners, we understand its power – for good and evil. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the ways that tech is being enlisted during the current crisis.

Netflix users, don’t be alarmed if you receive an email threatening to suspend your membership and prohibiting you from watching your favourite TV shows. The popular entertainment company has once again been spoofed by cybercriminals in a phishing email scam.

This week has been a challenging time of transition, not just for our team at MailGuard but for many organisations around the world. Implementing social distancing, switching to a remote workspace, modifying our regular routines and trying to create new health and hygiene habits can really take a toll on our mental health.

Westpac users are advised not to panic if they receive a legitimate-looking email spoofing the bank, claiming their account is ‘’temporarily blocked”.

Checking for personal details within an email is a common method of determining its validity, but it’s key to remember cybercriminals are aware of this too.

Receiving an email about supposedly inaccessible or blocked messages can be alarming, but it doesn’t hurt to think twice about the credibility of the email – especially if it involves clicking on unknown links.

MailGuard has identified and successfully blocked an email scam containing a malware-ridden attachment. The email was sent supposedly from a job applicant seeking employment.

A new phishing email scam has been intercepted by MailGuard, this time purporting to be sent from email marketing service Mailjet.

Users are advised to be wary of an email masquerading as a ‘payment advice note’. Using a display name of ‘Accounts’, the email is in plain-text and contains no links. It is titled ‘payment advice note from 03.09.2020’.

Be on the look-out for this sneaky email scam, pretending to be from an ‘Accounts Administrator’ named ‘Olivia Wilson.’ The simple email is text only with no links or attachments, so it will easily by-pass most email security services. The sender is relying on recipients responding to enquire about the missing invoice, at which time they will harvest the credentials of unsuspecting victims.  

Cybercriminals have once again exploited Westpac Bank’s trademarks in a phishing email scam.

MailGuard urges all cyber users to be vigilant when accessing their emails as a widespread email scam leveraging on fears around coronavirus (now officially known as COVID-19) is infiltrating Australian inboxes.

Netflix users, don’t panic if you receive an email threatening to suspend your membership and prohibiting you from watching your favourite TV shows. The popular entertainment company has once again been spoofed by cybercriminals in a phishing email scam.

Local internet service provider iiNet has been embroiled in a phishing email scam designed to harvest confidential data of users.