Delayed parcel delivery: phishing attempt by a strange sender

• With a phishing email, cybercriminals want to steal important data from you or plant malware on you.
• An undelivered package serves as an excuse for the scam.
• The attempted fraud can be recognized quickly, the sender is particularly curious.

In order to lure you into phishing scams, fraudsters like to pretend to be credit institutions, streaming services or parcel delivery companies. The latter is currently the case. In a message with the subject “Hermes: package delayed because…” the criminals claim that the delivery of a package has been delayed.

The layout and subject suggest that the email came from Hermes. The message includes a picture of the package you claim to have ordered and a tracking code. According to the authors, you need this so that the delivery can be planned. A link leads to the supposedly necessary process. However, there is a very high probability that there is a phishing page behind it or you will be taken to a malware download.

You can find out relatively quickly that it is a phishing email. Not only do numerous grammatical errors and the poor presentation speak for this, but also the sender address. This is namely the e-mail address of a campsite on the Moselle. The institution’s account was probably hacked and is now being used to spread scams.

Even if you have ordered a package, you should check such mails carefully and not blindly click on a link. This can have serious consequences. We advise you to move the message to the spam folder without reply.

Simple signs: This is how you recognize every phishing email

A first indication that you have received a phishing email: the email will ask you to confirm personal data or to enter it on a website. This Under no circumstances should you comply with the request. In addition, criminals often use the official logos of the companies they are copying in their emails, but not official sender addresses.

If you find the sender suspicious, you should read the email twice. You will often find spelling mistakes or inconsistencies in German grammar. The attackers usually do not write their emails themselves, but instead use automatically generated messages or translate known emails with a translation program. But why all the effort?

What do criminals achieve with phishing attacks?

Phishing is used on the Internet to collect real user data. Money can be made with these if e-mail addresses, names and other information are sold for advertising purposes or passed on in criminal forums. With the data obtained, cyber criminals can also address future phishing attacks in a more targeted manner, making their attacks more effective.

Attachments and links contained in malicious e-mails also often inject malware or viruses onto your computer. In addition, you should not simply ignore suspicious emails. Forward them to the above email address and help us report future phishing attacks.

More fraud alerts on netzwelt – stay one step ahead of cybercriminals

But phishing emails are not the only danger lurking on the internet. In addition to fraud attempts, there are all kinds of viruses, Trojans and malware that can infect your computer. Unfortunately, data scandals are also part of everyday digital life. You can see the five most recent articles on the subject of “Scam Alerts” below:

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