This nasty new email scam tricks victims into calling the fraudsters

Email warning
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Experts from security firm Kaspersky have warned of new waves of vishing (voice phishing) scams making the rounds that target users with extravagant purchase demands.

The company says that as-yet-unknown criminals are impersonating well-known hardware and software manufacturers, “warning” people of their gaming laptops, Apple smartwatches, and software license purchases.

Whatever the product, the value of the purchase is usually rather quite substantial, with the goal being to scare the victim into calling the number listed in the email. Once the victim takes the bait and rings the number, the attackers will try to extract any valuable or personal information over the phone, or try to have the victim install malware.

“This particular strain of spam e-mails contain no links, but they do include a phone number that the victim is asked to call if they want to change or cancel the order. And if the victim calls, most likely the scammers will try to wangle the login credentials for some financial service or bank card details,” explains Roman Dedenok, Content Filtering Team at Kaspersky. 

“Alternatively, they might try to trick the victim into transferring money or even installing a Trojan on their computer, which has been known to happen. Hence, users should be alert when receiving unexpected mails in their inbox.”

So, if you get an email informing you of an expensive purchase you don’t remember making, and if the email also contains a phone number that you should call in order to cancel the order, don’t do it.

Defending against phishing and vishing

Instead of calling the number in the email, victims should log into their account with the service in question, but not through the email, but rather directly through the browser.

Installing a reliable antivirus solution with protection against financial attacks, phishing, and online fraud, wouldn’t hurt, as well.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) are often targets of such attacks, as their employees are often understaffed, overworked and thus easy to catch off-guard.

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.

Read more
Fraude en ligne phishing
Google forced to step up phishing defenses following ‘most sophisticated attack’ it has ever seen
Paper craft illustration of a suspicious email that contains a snake
How to spot a phishing email
A fish hook is lying across a computer keyboard, representing a phishing attack on a computer system
Everything you need to know about phishing
Man holding a mobile phone with warning notification and spam message icon
Scammers have a new phishing trick for iPhone users – here’s how to avoid falling victim
PayPal
This PayPal scam exploits new address feature to send out phishing scam emails
An abstract image of a lock against a digital background, denoting cybersecurity.
This AI scam detector could save you thousands by stopping scammers before they reach you, but it's only free if you're a McAfee customer
Latest in Security
Data Breach
Thousands of healthcare records exposed online, including private patient information
China
Juniper patches security flaws which could have let hackers take over your router
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
GitLab has patched a host of worrying security issues
Ai tech, businessman show virtual graphic Global Internet connect Chatgpt Chat with AI, Artificial Intelligence.
AI agents can be hijacked to write and send phishing attacks
China
Volt Typhoon threat group had access to American utility networks for the best part of a year
Abstract image of cyber security in action.
MassJacker malware targets those looking for pirated software
Latest in News
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
Google Pixel 9a benchmark link teases the performance of the upcoming mid-ranger
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #1148)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #379)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #645)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro HANDS ON
Leaked iPhone 17 dummy units may have given us our best look yet at all four models
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over