FYI, a new phishing scam

[heidi]

My dad just got an email purporting to be from the EEOC, so of course I checked it out and found this:

EEOC ALERTS PUBLIC TO E-MAIL 'PHISHING' SCAM

Federal Agency Identifies Internet Fraud Being Perpetrated Against Employers

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) late today notified the business community and general public to a "phishing" e-mail circulating to companies that purports to be from the federal agency regarding a harassment complaint. The bogus e-mail contains a Trojan Horse Virus that is likely to harm a recipient's computer if the user clicks on the referenced web link and/or downloads the attached file.

The phony e-mail to employers -- being circulated under the subject "Harassment Complaint Update For"-- contains links where the respondent can allegedly access details of a fake discrimination claim. The EEOC has reported the issue to appropriate authorities.

The EEOC's policy is to notify an employer of the filing of a charge of employment discrimination using the U.S. Postal System. Because of security concerns, the EEOC does not notify employers of the filing of a charge of discrimination via e-mail. Consequently, if a company receives an e-mail notification which purports to advise the respondent of the filing of a charge of employment discrimination with the EEOC, the federal agency urges users to delete it immediately.

The contents of the phishing e-mail include an EEOC logo under the subject line and contain purported language from the EEOC under a subject heading, "Employer Liability for Harassment." Excerpts of the phishing e-mail are highlighted below:

FROM: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

SUBJECT: "Harassment Complaint Update For"

This is an automated email that confirms the registration of harassment complaint #number...this harassment complaint can lead to law enforcement action. You can download and print a copy of this complaint to keep for your personal records here...Our staff will keep you updated regarding the status of our investigation...To check the status of your complaint access:

The scam site they try to get you to go to is hist mag dot org (without spaces) - so be warned.

Comments

[bibliophile20.livejournal.com]

Huh. That's actually rather clever; people have been heavily warned about the standard types of phishing scams, so now the scammers have to take another tack. And since money (i.e. the "locking up the bank account" or things of that nature) is now out of the picture, they have to go for something else that people will reflexively jump on: sex. Specifically, they're trying to seize on that moment of panic when people think, 'it's not me! I didn't do it!' Makes me wonder what they'll try next after this.