Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR...
Morrisons ‘mystery box’ emails
What’s the threat?
Scammers are sending emails claiming to offer a ‘mystery box’ of freebies. They pretend to be from the UK’s major retailers – most commonly Morrisons and other supermarkets.
One email says you’re entitled to a mystery box because “you’ve scored in our loyalty giveaway” ( 1 in our screenshot). It shows a picture of a box, with the Apple logo, containing phones and laptops. Below is a red button prompting you to ‘Claim Your Reward’ 2 .
Another email mentions Morrisons above the heading ‘You’ve Been Chosen!’ 3 and tries to tempt you with a “unique opportunity” to win a box. It has an image of an unopened Christmas box, surrounded by drones, cameras, smartwatches, monitors, laptops and other devices. To ‘win’ this box you have to click the ‘Take Survey Now’ button. Clicking any button in the emails takes you to sites that try to steal your personal details.
How can you stay safe?
Scammers impersonating supermarkets is nothing new, but make a mental note that they’re using mystery boxes as a common tactic at the moment. Action Fraud said that it has received nearly 8,000 reports of this scam recently (see www.snipca.com/49576).
We’re not surprised that scammers are including mystery boxes in emails because similar-sounding legitimate offers have become popular. Morrisons sells ‘Magic Bags’ that contain £10 worth of surplus food for just £3.09 (www. snipca.com/49577), while a ‘Surprise Bag’ from Aldi costs £3.30. It’s likely that scammers will mimic these specific deals soon.
Also be on the lookout for scams that exploit the popularity of mystery boxes sold by fast-growing Chinese retailer Temu (www.temu.com) – see Protect Your Tech, Issue 676, for more information.
New tools Proton Pass for Windows
Proton, one of our favourite security companies, has released a Windows version of its password manager, to accompany its browser extension and mobile apps. To get it, visit www. snipca.com/49574 then click the ‘Download for Windows’ button below the ‘Access from your desktop’ heading.
Next, launch it by double-clicking the
