WITH hoax emails claiming to be from high profile brands becoming increasingly common and sophisticated, Telstra is warning Snowy Mountain residents to be wary of the latest string of emails asking for sensitive or personal information.
Telstra area general manager Chris Taylor said Telstra had received several reports from customers concerned about these emails which in some cases requested customers to enter personal information into a malicious website.
"It's unsettling to hear of our customers being misled in this way but the reality is it's no longer enough just to check the email address of the sender. These emails are becoming more realistic and are being sent from legitimate email addresses customers may recognise," Mr Taylor said. The frequency of hoaxes is also growing and it's estimated that each year billions of hoax emails are sent around the world, designed to target customers of various brands and services.
Mr Taylor said hoaxes often evoke a sense of urgency to catch customers off-guard and that there were two common types of email hoaxes customers should watch out for.
"Many customers are probably aware of one of the most common hoaxes where an email contains an attachment designed to introduce malware onto a customer's computer or device. These tend to be a PDF or a ZIP file," Mr Taylor said.
"The other common hoax is where an email contains embedded links directing customers to a phishing website to gather personal details."
While Telstra's security teams are actively searching for and dealing with these hoax emails, Mr Taylor said there are a few key things customers can look out for if they believe they've received a hoax email.
If peoplesuspect they have received a hoax email:
* Do not reply to it
* Do not open any attachment or click on any embedded links
* Delete the email
