If you're not a MailGuard user, watch out for a new phishing email with the subject "Outstanding Due Inv Paid". If the scam is successful, the attacker will obtain your login credentials for your Microsoft account.
The sender's name reads "Payment helpdesk Account Payable", and the email address shows "Burgandrilling-paydesk(at)tech-center(dot)com". However, the envelope address shows a unique address each time it's intercepted by our team. The email warns that there is an outstanding invoice and to click the hyperlinked text to view the document.
Here's an example of the email:
If the recipient clicks the link, they're directed to a phishing site that uses Microsoft OneDrive branding and is designed to look like an authentic login page. The user is asked to enter their professional email address before continuing.
If you look at the URL, you’ll see it’s a jumble of letters that are illegible. This is because the attacker used a Google translate feature and instead inserted the URL from that translation to hide the true website link.
On the next page, the recipient is asked to enter their password to “sign in”. However, after it’s submitted, the page will show that it was incorrect. After a couple of attempts, the victim is redirected to the genuine login page for live.com, but by this stage, the attacker will already have harvested their credentials and stored them for later use.
Scammers commonly use targeted phishing emails in an attempt to get employee login credentials. With these, they can gain access to sensitive information, such as financial and customer data or intellectual property, or carry out further attacks on the business or its customers.
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 omit 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.
Stay up-to-date with MailGuard's latest blog posts by subscribing to free updates. Subscribe to weekly updates by clicking on the button below.
