OT: New type of phishing scam emails

Here is a copy of a new, to me anyway, phishing scam email I just received. I guess the crooks must have figured out the free Nigerian money emails aren't working anymore! It's incredible what sort of schemes the crooks will cook up. Sensitive parts are x'd out. How stupid do these scammers think people are, anyway? Sadly, there are people out there who will click on these kinds of links and who knows what kind of nefarious malware gets put on their machines.

Flags on emails like this are no personalization all, no specific billing details, topics like "energy consumption limit" that don't make sense, and the link in the email goes to a zip file.The link to a zip is always a flag, although you can get them in legit emails, but almost never. Misspellings, like "yourth" in this one, are common in scam emails. In this case the supposed sender's URL is legitimate but the company is not an electric utility so that address has been spoofed.

So, as always, be on the watch for new types of scam emails and don't click on links in emails unless you are quite confident they are legit. This also shows that Internet Security s/w can't always detect these kinds of emails as being scams.

From: "Marketing and Sales Department" <dharmon@cintithermal.com>
To: "Customer" <xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.us>
Subject: electricity bill
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 19:38:28 +0200 (EEST)

Hello Sir/Madam.
We have prepared your annual kWh usage report for the year 2013. Energy consumption limit has been significantly exceeded by you.
If you wish to use a discounted energy tariff, please, discharge the indebtedness within 3 business days. To view your updated electricity bill click here
http://lmpjapan.co.jp/billing/case.xxxxxxxx.zip
Yourth faithfully
Marketing and Sales Department

And ignore emails about packages to be delivered, the IRS and the FBI who want you to fill in forms on a link.....

There is a rash of those Utility related Phishing Scams. I have received perhaps 20 or more, several pretending to be from utility companies 2000 miles from where I live. And there have been warnings from several of our local area utilities of telephone efforts to panic people into giving access to their financial accounts to pay allegedly overdue Utility billings.
At times I wonder if all the electronic communication we all enjoy is worth the candle. I pronounce a pox on all scammers and Phishers!!

TheDuke

Fortunately, I've never received an email like the one that was posted, altho this type of thing is all over the news. I don't understand how people actually think it's a legit email. It looks like you'd expect a scam email to look... doesn't make a bit of sense... and how someone wouldn't pick up the phone to verify it is beyond me.

i RECIEVED one from the IRS last week, it had a zip download that unzipped into a exe file. I downloaded it just to see, and unzipped it with my android. The email went to my windozes machine Avast filed it for me in the blocked file. They are getting smarter. Jim