There is a new email tracking scheme going on and one that you want to know about. The scheme attempts to install a remote access tool on your smart device by tricking you into opening an email attachment.
To make matters worse, the email claims to come from a very well-known business— John Hopkins Medical Center (known as John Hopkins Hospital). How scary is that?! If the recipient attempts to open the attachment (which is an Excel file), it will open and show a graph of the supposed number of COVID-19 cases in the United States. But, the file is obviously a scam. If you open it, and allow the file to run on your device, a Windows tool called NetSupport Manager will download.
While NetSupport Manager is a legitimate remove access tool, it is commonly known for being abused by hackers, so that they gain access to your personal information and compromise your device. Once a computer system is compromised, the NetSupport Manager will connect to a command-and-control server, which allows the hackers to send other commands.
What NOT To Do:
- Don’t click on any links that you receive from an unknown source
- Don’t open any attachments or download anything (even if it looks legit)
- Don’t ever give anyone your passwords or login information
- Suspicious emails are real. Scammers are real. Beware of suspicious messages that you receive and don’t let these guys get the best of you.