Dear Clients,
Please be aware that Office 365 users are being targeted in a convincing phishing attack. An email stating to be from Office 365 is being sent to end users asking for verification of credentials and noting that a request has been made to de-activate their account. While the email can look realistic, there are some major red flags to look out for.
- Senders Address – The ‘from’ address was not from a Microsoft Office 365 Domain.
- Alert emails from Office 365 will specify what they’re about in the subject line (like “Your Credit Card is About to Expire” or “A request to de-activate your account was made”) rather than just saying it’s an email notification.
- This is meant to scare you. It’s to try to get you to click and log in to the fake sign in screen before having a chance to think about it too much.
- They are attempting to get you to sign in. This will direct you to the fake sign in screen like below.
If you were to click on the link in the fake email, you’d be taken to a pretty convincing looking Office 365 log in page. But it has it’s own red flags:
- This is not an office365.com domain. This is your biggest and most important red flag. Always check the URL before you log in to any site to make sure you’re actually on the site you think you’re on.
- The email address is predefined
- This is where you enter your password – They are attempting to steal your password.
Once you put your password in, it redirects you and by then they will have your credentials.By this point, you’ll need to change your password immediately (and the password for any account that uses the same log in information) and contact Chill IT to further troubleshoot.
Ways to reduce the risks of being infected:
- Not to click on any links or attachments in these emails.
- Delete all odd or suspicious emails right away.
The Australian Government website Scamwatch is a good site for alerts, you can subscribe and will receive periodic updates which you should find helpful – www.scamwatch.gov.au Around this time of year there is also a surge in emails purporting to be from the ATO, be vigilant! If you suspect you may have clicked on the links accidentally, please turn off your PC immediately and call Chill IT on 1300 726 679
