People are being warned about an email currently doing the rounds that claims to be from Royal Mail, but is actually a scam containing malware that infects computers.
The cybercriminals reponsible are playing on people's curiosity and hoping that they will be tempted to open an attached ZIP file, in the mistaken belief that a parcel is on its way.
Opening the attached ZIP file will be infect the computer by a virus contained in the Trojan horse.
A typical email reads:
Royal Mail Group Shipment Advisory
The following 1 piece(s) have been sent via Royal Mail on Mon, 21 Aug 2012 15:43:14 +0530, REF# 5646597645
SHIPMENT CONTENTS: Documents
SHIPPER REFERENCE: PLEASE REFER TO ATTACHED FILE
ADDITIONAL MESSAGE FROM SHIPPER: PLEASE REFER TO ATTACHED FILE
Royal Mail Group Ltd 2012. All rights reserved
Despite coming from [email protected] and featuring the Royal Mail logo, this email are not connected with the Royal Mail in any way. It should be deleted immediately, the attachment should not be opened and the email should not be forwarded.
Scam emails purporting to be from Royal Mail are not new, in fact the organisation has a web page warning customers about their existence.
For Get Safe Online's information and advice about spam and scam emails, click here.
(Source: Action Fraud)
