DHL’s name is being used in a new phishing scam which attempts to con recipients into providing their email password.
The sender name for the email displays as “www.dhl.com”, although the sender address is actually “mark(at)usaroadtravel(dot)com”. The subject line alerts the recipient that “You have parcel with DHL Express”.
The email is plain-text and contains no official DHL branding. The first red flag appears immediately, with the generic greeting of “Dear Customer”, which is commonplace in phishing emails so that they can be sent to a wider audience.
It continues on to say that a package has arrived at their office, but the details provided for dispatch were incorrect. In order to rectify this, the user is instructed to “Download attached shipment receipt, Track delivery and correct details to enable us proceed with Dispatch”.
Here's what the email looks like:
Opening the attachment in the email actually directs the user to a self-contained webpage, which shows Adobe branding.
On this page their email address is pre-filled, and they’re instructed to enter their email password and press the button to continue in order to get the shipment receipt. However, if a user does this, their email account credentials will be harvested, and they will be redirected back to the official Adobe website.
When you know what to look for, there are many indicators that this email is not authentic, and the generic greeting just scratches the surface.
Emails from companies as large as DHL will generally include some elements of their branding or at the very least, a logo. While their support email is mentioned in the email as being “support(at)dhl(dot)com”, the sender address does not match. This email is also written in somewhat broken English, with a number of grammatical errors, which is abnormal for large companies but common in many scams.
Companies such as DHL are often the target of impersonation in phishing attacks due to their widespread customer base and trusted brand.
DHL warns customers that:
- Official DHL communication is always sent from @dhl.com, @dpdhl.com, @dhl.de, @dhl.fr or another country domain after @dhl
- They never use @gmail, @yahoo or other free email services to send emails
MailGuard advises all recipients of this email to delete it immediately without clicking on any links. Providing your personal details can result in your sensitive information being used for criminal activity and may have a severe negative impact on your business and its’ financial well-being.
MailGuard urges users not to click links or open attachments within emails that:
- Are not addressed to you by name.
- Appear to be from a legitimate company but use poor English or omits personal details that a legitimate sender would include.
- Are from businesses that you were not expecting to hear from, and/or
- Take you to a landing page or website that is not the legitimate URL of the company the email is purporting to be sent from.
Many businesses turn to MailGuard after an incident or a near miss, often as a result of an email similar to the one shown above. If unwanted emails are a problem for your business, don’t wait until it’s too late.
Reach out to our team for a confidential discussion by emailing expert@mailguard.com.au or calling 1300 30 44 30.
One email is all that it takes
All that it takes to devastate your business is a cleverly worded email message that can steal sensitive user credentials or disrupt your business operations. If scammers can trick one person in your company into clicking on a malicious link or attachment, they can gain access to your data or inflict damage on your business.
For a few dollars per staff member per month, you can protect your business with MailGuard's predictive and advanced email security. Talk to a solution consultant at MailGuard today about securing your company's inboxes.
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