Email scams claim you’ve been invited to video chat or conference
Email users should be aware of phishing or malware attacks that claim you’ve been invited to a video conferencing meeting with popular video services like Zoom and Google Classroom.
With many on enforced or advisory lockdowns across the world, the popularity of video conference/chat programs have surged, as businesses and friends look for ways to keep connected.
And cyber criminals are taking advantage of that by tricking users into clicking on malicious email links or opening dangerous email attachments.
The scam emails will claim the recipient has been invited to a meeting or group chat with a popular app such as Zoom or the video chat features offered by Google Classroom.
Some emails may include a link to a spoof website that will either try and install malware onto a victim’s computer by claiming they have to download software to video conference, or the site may try and trick the visitor into entering sensitive login information which is then stolen.
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Such spoof websites may be designed to look like the real Zoom website to add authenticity to the scam. Security company Check Point found that 1700 new domains with the word “zoom” had been registered since the start of the year, 25% in the last week.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 1700 new domains were registered and 25% of them were registered in the past week.
Check Point also noted that the same applied to Google Classroom, with some suspicious domains recently registered including googloclassroom\.com and googieclassroom\.com.
Other emails may not provide a link but include a malicious email attachment, and claim that the recipient must open the attachment to begin the video conference or chat. However the attachment can lead to the installation of malware.
The email attacks come as video conferencing app Zoom announced they were looking to fix security vulnerabilities that led to many video conferences being hijacked or “bombed” by uninvited guests.
If you receive an email, social media messages or text inviting you to a video chat or conference, treat it with suspicion. Never open email attachments to such messages, and avoid clicking on links until you’ve verified that the message is legitimate. If you do click a link, closely examine the web URL at the top to make sure it is the official website and not a lookalike address.
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