The Office of Information Security observes a trend in which criminals send a fraudulent order confirmation claiming the recipient will be charged almost $500. The criminals hope victims will call a phone number to refute the “purchase” and disclose their banking information.
If you see a message like the one below, please do not interact with the sender or phone number, and do not follow any special instructions. Simply report the email using the Phish Alert Button (PAB) in your Outlook interface. It is always best to be cautious and report anything remotely suspicious. Our team will analyze all submissions and return them to you if they are determined to be safe. Below, we dissect this phishing attempt to reveal its red flags.
- The sender’s email address is not from Geek Squad or its parent company, Best Buy.
- The subject line and the salutation are generic. Many scammers try to make phishing content as generic as possible so that it might apply to many people.
- The Geek Squad logo is comically misformatted.
- There are grammatical errors throughout, like, “Thank you for choosing our Puzder” (Puzder is my last name).
- Geek Squad does not accept direct bank transfers as a form of payment. (source)
- The support number is incorrect (source) and probably belongs to a criminal. If you want to speak with Geek Squad’s customer support, you should look up the support number yourself.
- They impose a short time limit to cancel. Scammers may attempt to create a feeling of panic — don’t rush to respond to or follow the instructions of suspicious emails, text messages, or phone calls.
The message above tries to impersonate Geek Squad, but upon inspection, you can find cracks in their disguise. If you ever receive unexpected invoices, do not panic. To ensure you’re in contact with Best Buy directly, customers should call 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289) or use a contact method found directly on BestBuy.com to ensure it is legitimate.
Avoid this and other scams by following our ten phishing safety tips and guidance below.
10 Phishing Safety Tips
- Don’t click. Instead of clicking on any link in a suspicious email, type in the URL or search wustl.edu for the relevant department or page. Even if a website and/or URL in an email looks real, criminals can mask its true destination.
- Be skeptical of urgent requests. Phishing messages often make urgent requests or demands. When you detect a tone of urgency, slow down and verify the authenticity of the sender and the request by using official channels rather than the information provided by the sender.
- Watch out for grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Phishing messages are often poorly written. Common hallmarks of phishing are incorrect spelling, improper punctuation, and poor grammar. If you receive an email with these problems, it may be a phishing attempt. Double-check the email address of the sender, don’t follow any links, and verify the authenticity of the request using official channels.
- Keep your information private. Never give out your passwords, credit card information, Social Security number, or other private information through email.
- Pick up the phone. If you have any reason to think that a department or organization really needs to hear from you, call them to verify any request for personal or sensitive information. Emails that say “urgent!”, use pressure tactics, or prey on fear are especially suspect. Do an online search for a contact phone number or use the contact number published in the WUSTL directory.
- Use secure websites and pay attention to security prompts. Always check if you are on a secure website before giving out private information. You can determine whether a website is secure by looking for the “https:” rather than just “http:” in the Web address bar or for the small lock icon in the Internet browser. If your browser cannot validate the authenticity of the website’s security certificate, you will be prompted. This is frequently a telltale sign of fraud, and it would be a good time to pick up the phone or report a suspicious message.
- Keep track of your data. Regularly log onto your online accounts and make sure that all your transactions are legitimate.
- Reset any account passwords that may have been compromised.
- Know what’s happening. Visit the Office of Information Security Alerts page often.
- Report it. If you are a victim of an email scam, report it to our office by using the Phish Alert Button (PAB). When you report a phishing attack, we will investigate it and, if necessary, remove other instances of the attack from our systems. Reporting the attack will help protect others and our institution.
Additional Resources
Phishing | Office of Information Security | Washington University in St. Louis
Phishing 101 | Office of Information Security | Washington University in St. Louis