* Potential phishing scam. Be aware!

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themoudie
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Potential phishing scam. Be aware!

Post by themoudie »

This scam has just been publicised to subscribers to Which? magazine. Just be aware. This quotation in full, has been taken from the latest bonafide Which? subscribers newsletter.

"Scam watch: Spoof genealogy email

My sister recently got an email that appeared to be from me, but in fact came from my wife’s email – she hadn’t noticed the unusual email address. It contained a link that appears to direct you to Ancestry.co.uk, the family history website, and was advertising the opportunity to view the life story of our late aunt, mentioning her name in full. I subscribe to Ancestry.co.uk, and my family tree is available to other members, although the identities of living people, such as my wife and sister, are kept anonymous. My sister forwarded me the email, asking if I had sent the correct link (as it led to a free trial offer). I called and warned her that neither I, nor Ancestry.co.uk, had sent that email. I’ve informed my bank of this possible scam, but haven’t contacted anyone else yet.

Giles Youngs, Drinkstone

We say: It appears that someone has hacked into your wife’s email account, discovered her personal details and used them to send a very convincing phishing email. These emails often lead to copycat websites that ask for financial details and/or contain malware. We advise running a virus scan on all computers that the link was opened on. Make sure that your wife changes the password on her email account and all other online accounts. Check the email settings for mail forwarding, signatures, and out-of-office replies to ensure they’ve not been altered. Finally, report this case to Action Fraud. "

I hope this helps rather than hinders other subscribers to this forum.

My regards, Bill
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