Burger King customers around the world were left baffled after opening their email inboxes to find a blank receipt from the fast food restaurant chain.
It would seem that the company mailed everyone - not just people with an account, but most likely people in the marketing database, too - a completely blank receipt. Some people even got multiple receipts.
While the initial thought was that the company suffered a data breach, and that customer data was being leveraged in a widespread phishing attack, it is most likely just a blunder from the company, given that the emails were sent from the company’s main promotional marketing email address.
Keeping quiet
In any case, it’s all just speculation, as Burger King is yet to make any official statement, with the company’s Twitter account yet to acknowledge the incident.
TechRadar Pro has contacted the company for comment.
With phishing being as widespread as it is, and capable of causing real, financial damage, one can never be cautious enough with emails. Cybercriminals often impersonate big brands, not just in the fast food industry, but in other industries as well, with the likes of Amazon, DHL, Microsoft, Apple, and others, being frequently used to distribute malware, or steal sensitive data from customers and clients.
To spot a phishing email, the recipient must be extra careful, double-checking the sender email address for any typos or suspicious characters (sometimes Apple will be spelled with a capital i instead of a lowercase L), as well as the email’s body for typos or other mistakes. Also, phishing emails always carry a sense of urgency, to force the victim into action without thinking twice. That being said, phishing emails are usually threatening with account locks, fund lock-ups, blocked parcels, etc.
Emails with links and buttons are also a potential red flag. Recipients should double-check the hyperlinks before clicking anything, to make sure they’re not being redirected to a third-party landing page. Simply hovering over the hyperlink would sometimes suffice.
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Via: The Verge