A new bit of spam or phishing got past our multiple spam filters and into our Outlook 2016 Inbox. It’s a good example of what check in an unexpected message.
The message uses the name and link from a real law firm but they’re not to blame. It appears to be sent from the UK but even that could be hiding the real source.
Despite any email checkers you or your mail host might have, that doesn’t mean you can relax. Be suspicious of any strange or unexpected message. (Aside from not being 100% perfect, anti-spam filters have a less known problem. They can block legitimate messages you really want to see.)
Of course, the first clue is knowing nothing about the law firm or the fake ‘Mr Walker’.
Beware .doc extensions
The first ‘red flag’ is the visible link that appears to be a .DOC Word document. This is the old Word document type which is much more vulnerable to hacking and putting a virus on your computer.
Check the REAL link
The visible link is a lie – hover your mouse over any emailed link to check the real web link.
As you can see, when you click on the link it goes to a totally different domain. Happily, that link has now been disabled but initially it would have included some nasty to infect your computer.
Delete
Any message like this only deserves one response – the Delete key.
SPF Record
We said earlier that LarryFormanLaw.com aren’t to blame for these fake messages but the firm could have reduced the risk of being spoofed.
Earlier this month, we noted another spam message misuses the domain of a firm. That victim and LarryFormanLaw.com have something in common, neither have SPF records for their domain.
Anyone with their own domain name, business or personal, should have a SPF record. SPF reduces the risk of your domain being abused by hackers and makes it more likely that your real emails will be delivered.
