BigPond Phishing scam
Email scam
Phishing emails are a dime a dozen but we thought this one which purports to come from Australian Internet service provider BigPond was worth a warning.
Sure as eggs, if scammers are targeting BigPond users they will attempt the same scam using another Internet service provider’s name.
The email is titled “Dear Valued BigPond.net.au user” and states:
“We will be conducting a scheduled routine maintenance that may affect email delivery notifications on our transaction network. This issue was raised 2 weeks ago. Please be rest assured that this will not impact transactions adversely.
”We would need the following information to enable us (sic) conduct our maintenance effectively. This will enable you (sic) logon to bigpond.net.au direct with webmail.bigpond.net.au and it will also allow you to view your invoice, update your credit card or contact information, change your email addresses or passwords, and more at ...”
It goes on to ask for your name, address, telephone number, fax, location where you access your email, email address and password.
It contains a link to Big Pond’s website which adds authenticity to an email which is not particularly well written. Hover your mouse over the sender’s email address and it actually shows a hotmail email account.
Of course, this unsolicited email is just “phishing” for personal information so it can hack into your inbox. Once there, scammers can wreak havoc by:
- Scrolling for personal information, such as tax file numbers and online banking details, to steal your identity or fleece your bank account.
- Hijacking your contact book and send SPAM or emails containing viruses from your email account.
- Unleashing malicious software into your computer.
Telstra, which owns BigPond, confirmed that the email is a fake. It said BigPond does not ask for this kind of information in a general email to customers.
It advises its users to always be wary of any email asking you for personal information such as passwords.
WA ScamNet couldn’t agree more with that advice!
Scams of a similar type include:
For more scams of this type and others, visit the full list of scams by type page.
