There are two new phishing emails that are making the rounds with fake invitations to view  Google Docs.  They are both very clever and they are both sent from someone that is in your contact list. The first one is a bit easier to spot as it looks something like this:

For those of you who have received an Invitation to View a Google Doc before, it is easy to pick up what is amiss with this email.  However for those of you who haven’t, this is what a legitimate Invitation to View a Google Doc looks like.  When you click the Open in Docs button, the document is opened for you.

The second phishing email is more sophisticated in that it looks a lot like a legitimate Invitation to View a Google Doc.  The only thing missing  from the email is the name of the document. However if you click on the Open in Docs button instead of viewing the document, a dialog box appears asking you for permission to access your email. This is the tip off that something is awry. Google Docs does not need access to your email to function.

If you see a dialog box instead of a document when you click the Open in Docs button, DO NOT CLICK on anything. Disconnect your computer from the Internet and call the IT Service Desk.  If you want to learn more about this phishing campaign, check out the CBC article.

As these latest phishing campaigns show, criminals are getting more and more sophisticated in the development of their phishing emails.  It is getting harder and harder to determine what is a legitimate email and what is a scam. To avoid becoming a victim of cyber crime, verify the legitimacy of all unexpected emails containing links or attachments regardless of who they come from.

A group of cyber criminals are having a lot of success with the latest spear phishing campaign. They are mining social media  for information on where and when you may be traveling. Using this information they send out fake airline reservation confirmations or receipts that look just like the real thing using an email address that looks legit.

Many of these emails contain links to sites that look like the real thing, asking you to enter your username and password and encouraging you to open an attachment or click on a link that loads malware. The loaded malware allows the criminals to hack into the network.

These criminals are clever enough to vary the format of the email and the delivery method for the malware, making it more difficult to detect.

If you receive a confirmation for a flight or a receipt, do not click on any links or open any attachments.  Instead, go to the website of the airline directly using a URL that you know is legit and check your account or reservation on the site itself.

If you do click on one of these links or open one of these attachments, please disconnect from the network and call the Service Desk at 403-440-6000 immediately.

Members of the Mount Royal community are receiving emails that look an awful lot like they come from the ITS Service Desk.  Problem is, they aren’t.  The clever criminals are even shameless enough to hide their malicious link in an email that looks like it is trying to prevent cyber crime.  Here is what to look for:

Of course if you click on the link, some nice nasty malware gets loaded onto your system. If this email shows up in  your inbox, do not click on any of the links and delete it immediately.

The criminals are getting smarter and smarter and are starting to make fewer and fewer mistakes. Remember, before you click on a link in an email, or open an email attachment contact the sender and verify that the email is legitimate.