Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Beware of "FTC Refund" phishing fraud

There is a new email scam out that is based on a previous scam perpetrated by J.K. Publications, Inc., that was resolved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) several years back.

Because the FTC publishes fraudulent cases like this one on its web site, bad guys can use this information to create a phishing attack that appears legitimate. The real FTC cases are posted here: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds.

The phishing email being disseminated this week appears to be from the FTC; it recounts old facts from the J.K. Publications case and promises you a refund check. However, the FTC will not send you an email telling you that you need to take action (like click a link or attachment in the email) to receive a refund.

Rule of thumb: Any time you receive an email from an official-sounding organization promising you a refund in a particular dollar amount, be extremely wary of it. Do not click links and do not open attachments to emails like this. Delete the email.



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