Virtually every scam out there is one that has existed since the beginning of social use of the Internet; it’s simply been re-purposed in an updated digital format. In this Bulletin, we will focus on the greeting card scam – a perversion of the e-greeting card that you receive in your email inbox and seems to be coming from a friend.
If you open this email and click on the card, you will probably wind up with malicious software that will be downloaded and installed on your operating system.
The malware may be just an annoying program that will launch pop-ups with ads, resulting in unexpected windows all over the screen. However, it can also be ransomware or one of the worst financial malware that’s been around, part of the infamous Zeus family.
If your system becomes infected with such dangerous malware, you will become one of the bots which are part of a larger network of affected computers. In this unfortunate event, your computer will start sending private data and financial information to a fraudulent server controlled by IT criminals.
To keep yourself safe from identity theft and data breach, we recommend that you treat unexpected email greetings with caution and ensure that your computer is using a security program against this type of danger.
BNI Operatives: Situationally aware.
As always, stay safe.
The Beacon Bulletin 