The email in the screenshot above is a scam message using a fake ASIC logo to deceive recipients.
ASIC - The Australian Securities and Investments Commission - is Australia's main financial services and consumer credit regulation body. As such, the organisation commands a lot of authority and their branding, therefore, makes a useful tool for cybercriminals running a scam.
This email purports to be an ASIC business name renewal notification and advises the recipient to click on a link to read a “renewal letter,” but the link is actually pointed at a malware file. Files of this type may deliver spyware, trojans or viruses to the victim’s computer.
The display names on the messages sent by this attack are from one of 5 domain variants:
- From: "ASIC Messaging Service" <asic.no-reply@boui.org>
- From: "ASIC Messaging Service" <asic.no-reply@buchshelf.com>
- From: "ASIC Messaging Service" <asic.no-reply@ot4u.net>
- From: "ASIC Messaging Service" <asic.no-reply@prodigitalnomad.com>
- From: "ASIC Messaging Service" <asic.no-reply@quotleapp.com>
All of these domains were recently registered on a domain registry in China.
At time of writing no other security service providers were detecting this threat.
MailGuard has successfully protected our customer’s from this attack, but unprotected inboxes may receive one of these bogus ASIC messages, so please be alert today.
Protect your inbox
Always hover your mouse over links within emails and check the domain they’re pointing to. If they look suspicious or unfamiliar don’t open them.
9 out of 10 cyber-attacks are delivered via email, so it's essential to have the best filtering service available.
For a few dollars per staff member per month, you can have the peace of mind of MailGuard's comprehensive cloud-based email and web filtering. You’ll significantly reduce the risk of zero-day (previously unknown) threats and stop new variants of malicious email from entering your network.
Keep up to date on the latest scams by subscribing to MailGuard updates or follow us on social media.
If you’re experiencing problems with email scams you can speak to one of MailGuard's cloud security specialists right now on 1300 30 44 30
