Canadians Continuously being Targeted with Scam E-mails

Canada Post has issued an alert throughout the country regarding one virus-laced e-mail doing the rounds as it potentially hijacks personal information of Internet users, published CTV NEWS on November 25, 2011.

Appearing as legitimate, the malicious electronic mail poses as a communication from Canada Post that informs the recipient of an attempt at handing over a parcel, which he now requires collecting from the Post Office after visiting a given web-link and obtaining the tracking number as well as taking a print out of it.

Furthermore according to the e-mail, which's signed from Canada Post Corporation, the parcel couldn't be handed over as nobody was there to receive it at the residence the user indicated, hence the auto-generated notification e-mail.

One particular recipient of the malicious e-mail stated that the message had one web-link, which upon clicking led him onto a 6-page site displaying a complex PC code that had little relevance.

In the meantime, security researchers state that a malware scam of the above kind isn't new to Canada. During November 2011 beginning, people got electronic mails supposedly from CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) suggesting that there was a tax refund due for them, as stated the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

In fact, the RCMP launched a probe named 'Operation Coche' during 2008 concentrating on the activities of CRA in its Montreal office, sources indicated. Importantly, it had lately started a probe named 'Operation Critique' in its Quebec offices too, according to the same sources.

Notably, making a post to the CRA website, police confirms that the above electronic mails are a fake, while recipients mustn't follow any web-link given inside them. Also according to security researchers, online crooks are exploiting the Christmas time during when the maximum number of parcels get shipped.

Thus they advise users that incase they get an uninvited electronic mail, which masquerades as being from legitimate companies, while asks for specific information alternatively tells them to follow a given web-link then they must erase that message. Actually, such tricks are popular with Internet fraudsters, as they help to easily dupe users who normally believe the companies.

Related article: Canadian Retailer Faces Security Breach of Customer Credit Numbers

» SPAMfighter News - 12/5/2011