We hear about the concept of a phishing attack. The quintessential “Nigerian Prince” or the link to check on a charge to your card trying to elicit your account login information. I receive at least one, if not more, text message every day wanting me to click on a link to check on my Amazon account that has been used to purchase several iPhones or from “Facebook” saying that “Abuse complaint was received against you FB page. Please re-confirm your account: https://pspwb……..” (Yes, the typo was in the original text.)
It has become a running joke in our office and we tell each other, “Seems legit! You should probably click that link.” (NOTE – we never do and neither should you.)
However, just last week one of our management team received a very interesting email that he said I could share for your information, learning, or just for your entertainment.
He is on the board for a local charity. His and the other board members’ email addresses were listed on the charity’s web page (they have since been removed after this incident).
He received an email that purported to be from the chairman of the board telling him that he wanted to send gifts of appreciation to all the board members for their work. He asked that my colleague purchase gift cards for $100 for each member and to send him the number on the gift cards and that he would then send them to the board members. Oh, and he said, “Be sure to get one for yourself too.” My colleague was told that the chairman would pay him back later.
Seeing as how it was a slow morning, he decided to have a little fun with this guy. You can see the thread below.
For some strange reason, he never heard back from this guy after the last email.