Scam Email Tricks Victims to With COVID Report from HR
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Scammers are attempting to steal workplace login credentials with a scheme that impersonates the victims’ human resources department. The goal is to steal Microsoft Office credentials. In this email impersonation scam, the attackers send an email from a fake email account. The scam email contains a link to download COVID information supposedly sent by the victim’s workplace.
READ Email Phishing Campaign Actively Targeting Microsoft Office, Google Gmail Accounts
The scam email is crafted to is appear as though it was sent from the employee’s own human resources department from an internal email. The email also uses fake Microsoft Office 365 branding.
Messaging in the email, inform the employee that HR has sent a document called “Covid-19 Report.”
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The employee is expecting to download A PDF document to read the report. However, if they are fooled by the spoofed domain name and the contents of the email clicking on the link sends them to a malicious webpage.
“The email also states that the file is secure and has been scanned for viruses, which may dupe the recipient into following the link,” says the report from Abnormal Security .
If employee is tricked, they land on a spoofed web page designed to look like a Microsoft Outlook login page. The victim is prompted to enter in their Microsoft Office username and password.
READ Skype Phishing Email Steals Microsoft Office Login
The goal of a scam is to steal enterprise-level Microsoft office login credentials. This can be used to steal the information contained in the email accounts. Payroll personnel, human resources employees, and executives are all ideal targets for scammers. Their email accounts usually contain information about corporate secrets, vendor deals, contracts, financial account details, and a tranche of other highly sensitive information.
Why this email impersonation scam is effective
- The email scam appears to originate from a trusted source – the victim’s own human resources department – to increase believability
- In addition, the contains a message that informs the recipient that the email has been scanned and is safe to open – a common corporate practice
- The scam email also contains Microsoft Office branding to further the impersonation scam
- The spoofed web page also looks like a legitimate Microsoft login page
An up-to-date antivirus app can help protect your laptop, computer, or phone phishing attacks like this one. We recommend Heimdel Security or Malwarebytes antivirus.
