Red Flags – ‘Encrypted’ PDF Email

This email suggests that I have an attachment that I need to review. The attachment is a pdf file.

Below are the red flags that suggest this email is a phishing email and not legitimate:

(1). The greeting is a general greeting. If a company has dealt with me and knows me, then they should be addressing me by my name.

(2). The email talks about an attachment. I have had no previous contact from this company and am not expecting any attachments to review.

(3). The attachment is named in a strange way. The attachment name does not mean anything to me.

On opening the PDF file, the following is shown:

The PDF claims to be encrypted and needs me to click a link to view the PDF. This is a common trick and should be a massive red flag for this being a phishing email.

Always take a couple minutes to review emails before replying, clicking on any links or opening any attachments. Use those couple minutes to look for anything that doesn’t look right about the email. And always, always, if in doubt, don’t click.

 

Red Flags – Documents From….

This email claims to be from a random person where they claim to have used Microsofts OneDrive to share some files that need reviewed.

Below are 2 flags that show this particular email is a phishing scam:

(1). The sender is unknown. They are sending files to be reviewed, but I have had no dealing with them and am not expecting any files.

(2). The sender says they are using Microsoft’s One Drive to share files, but when you hover over the link, its pointing to Google Drive

Always take a couple minutes to review emails before replying, clicking on any links or opening any attachments. Use those couple minutes to look for anything that doesn’t look right about the email. And always, always, if in doubt, don’t click.