Fake Payment Requests On the Rise, Be Aware
It is that time of year again. People begin shopping more than ever. More and more shopping is done on the Internet. Christmas is fun, and even us little furry piggies love getting presents (hint, hint to my owner: I love chewing on things). But as shopping increases so do the attempts to trick people into giving away money or information.
A new wave of fake payment requests are targeting email subscribers with subject lines such as, “Payment verification from – (insert your favorite credit card company, payment portal, or shopping site). ” The message typically says that to stop the payment, you must download and run the attached zip file.
NEVER download a zip file from anyone you are not expecting a file from or normally get files from. Has your bank or credit card company ever sent you a zip file to run? Not likely.
Last year, emails about “your shipment” made the rounds, and we will see those again this year. This type of attack relies on people panicking and thinking that someone has charged something to them falsely and they want to block it. Don’t panic!
If you are worried about false charges, CALL your credit card company, bank, payment portal, etc., using the number you already have (check the back of your card, previous transactions, the phone book or their website). Never use a number from one of these emails and never click on any links in these emails.
The Internet is full of snakes; don’t let them eat you!
Spike