You may have witnessed your email inbox being flooded with product promotions and advertisements from stores you may have shopped from online in the past. This is when you become very vulnerable, according to an Express UK report Wednesday.
Fraudulent emails could deceive you, claiming to be antivirus or some promotional product, and in the backdrop, they steal your personal information.
The report claimed that an email is circulating that offers to protect your device as it uses phrases like “could be at risk” from “viruses and other malware”.
Such words encourage you to take preemptive safety measures and on the button that reads “renew subscription”.
This is how you are taken to another webpage that asks you to enter your bank account details for subscription renewal. You inadvertently share your private information with criminals who will then steal all your money and valuables.
As many as 4,500 reports were received which according to Action Fraud urges to ignore and report.
“Fake messages often include spelling and grammar mistakes, a sense of urgency, and/or questionable links and attachments,” McAfee said in a statement, adding that “if you’ve received a suspicious email with McAfee branding, do not respond, download attachments or click links.”
McAfee said: “These fake emails use a technique called ‘phishing’. Phishing gets its name because the technique involves ‘fishing’ for passwords, user names, and other sensitive information. These phishing emails often include links that, if clicked, can introduce malware to your computer.”