Sunday, June 9, 2019

Fake legal threats make for good phishing

Scammers are sending well crafted legal complaints in email messages to unsuspecting citizens, enticing them to open document attachments to view the charges or complaint. If you open an attachment, you've just let the bad guys into your computer to infect it with malware.

The emails typically come from a domain owned by a legit law firm that has been compromised. But the sender may also use a made up firm. Either way, anyone can create a fake legal document and email it to you. Don't fall for it.

For an example, see https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/05/legal-threats-make-powerful-phishing-lures/.

If you receive an email like this, treat it like spam. If you have doubts that it is a fake, instead of clicking attachments or links in the suspicious email, find out if the law firm is for real and, if so, call them by phone.

Never reply or act on threatening or urgent emails that are unexpected or in any way seem out of the ordinary.