BBB Alerts Customers about Fake Emails Impersonating USPS

News.ruralinfo.net reported quoting a recent warning issued by Better Business Bureau, an American nonprofit organization focused on building marketplace trust as "Postal customers should be cautious as scammers are posing as U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and sending bogus emails to gain access to personal information."

These scam emails contain information of an attempted or interrupted package delivery or charges for online postage.

Clicking on a link furnished in the email in order to view the package details leads to the opening of an attached file which can activate a computer virus that can steal personal information like usernames, passwords and other information related to financial account.

News.ruralinfo.net published news on 15th April, 2014 quoting a statement by Dennis Horton, Director of the Rockford Regional Office of Better Business Bureau as "These emails are easily mistaken as authorized messages from USPS and clicking on the link can cause theft of identity which could create serious problems for years."

Rockrivertimes.com published news on 15th April, 2014 stating following tips on spotting hoax emails by Chuck McGann, Security Officer of USPS Corporate Information.

The tips are: Firstly, text of such emails contains grammatical and spelling errors. Secondly, emails ask customers to take action immediately otherwise they are threatened with dire consequences. Thirdly, the email asks for personal information on the pretext of re-confirming details."

Officials advise people to delete those suspicious messages which appear to have come from USPS and report to usps.gov about these messages so that it can take instant action to stop the scam emails from spreading and making more people a victim of it.

Security pundits observe that the lure of package delivery notification or online postage charges is not something new as it is commonly used in attacks misusing the brands like UPS. DHL, FedEx and other similar services also.

Moreover, it is not the first time that the name of USPS has been exploited by scammers in a scam email campaign as in July 2012 security firm MX Lab intercepted a failed delivery notifications purporting to be from "USPS Mail Service" containing nasty pieces of malware.

» SPAMfighter News - 4/23/2014