If you’ve ever gone through a red light camera or have been caught speeding, you’ve probably received a fine of some sort for the effort in the post. That’s fine, because that’s normal, but a digital one? That’s just a scam.
A new series of spam, is targeting Aussies and only Aussies because of how it tries to trick them, and that is with reports that you’ve been fined.
The report comes by way of ESET and the government, which both have sent word of dodgy emails making their way around Australia pretending to be from the government, complete with malware attached designed to take some of your important files, lock them up, and charge you money for unlocking them.
The emails appear to be official, and try to tell you that you might have “exceeded the speed limit” complete with a slightly more legalese sounding language telling you how much you apparently went over the speed limit with.
Fortunately, this is fake, and the government doesn’t send out notices like this over email. Unfortunately, people will still think it’s real, and many will click, so make sure you don’t click on any of the links, view any of the attached photos, or try to open any attachments, as the payload will likely try to take money from you by taking over your files.
“When confronted by a strange email or pop-up demanding money, users should always treat it with scepticism,” said Sieng Chye Oh, Security Researcher at ESET.
“The Australian Government does not send official infringement notices through email, and will never ask for immediate or direct payment. Instead, check with your local states’ fine collection agency before paying any fees. The easiest way to determine whether an official looking email is a scam or not is to see whether the email has come from an official email address ending in .gov.au.”
Worth noting is that this type of scamming isn’t going anywhere, and being aware of this type of trickery is important to maintaining a better hold of your digital security.
