10 emails that tried to trick us into installing ransomware
5. Problems With Your Order – Customer ID 01868079
The social engineering: This email purports a problem with a delivery that the recipient has apparently made and claims the invoice for this delivery is in the email attachment, which will naturally pique the curiosity of the person receiving the email.
4. Emailng – IMG_0015.pdf
The social engineering: The simplest emails are often the most successful, and this email doesn’t even mention anything in the body, and simply implies that the attachment contains a photograph.
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3. Traffic report ID: 36711916
The social engineering: This email purports that the recipient’s vehicle was involved in a traffic violation, the details of which can be seen via the attachment. Naturally this is likely to alarm many people who receive such an email.
2. Order Confirmation – Payment Successful, Ref. 28889749
The social engineering: This email simply confirms the details of an apparent order the recipient has just made.
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1. You have received fax, document 00219831
The social engineering: This email claims to have a copy of a fax document that was sent to the recipient in the attachment.
All of these emails have one goal. To lure the recipient into opening the attachment. That is often enough to infect the computer that the recipient is using. There are numerous other examples of these types of emails, but once you’ve seen enough examples, they become much easier to spot in the future.
Remember, learning how to spot these emails is important. It’s also important to be able to protect yourself in case ransomware does manage to install itself, and for that we recommend having reliable antivirus installed on your computer or tablet. You can check our editor’s choice security software below.
For more information about ransomware, click here.
For our recommended security software to keep you protected from this nasty type of malware, click here.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest cybersecurity threats and our tips to stay safe online. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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