Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.

Virus Emails Sent As Zip Attachment From Spoofed Family and Friends Email Addresses

Hello Everyone, I have received a few calls from my friends and family who have stated that they have been receiving emails that have been sent from my e-mail address, with a Zip file attached. My e-mail account was not hacked or e-mail address credentials given to anyone. My passwords are updated frequently and very complex. These emails were not sent by me, but by computer viruses.

A Zip file (a file ending with the extension ".zip") contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size. Virus authors (creators of viruses) use Zip files to elude detection by anti-virus software.

Although, the e-mail "From" address contains my e-mail address, it was not sent by me. Viruses use a technique called "Email Spoofing" to change the "From" address of an email, to make it appear as if it came from someone else.

It's very easy to spoof an e-mail; even you can do it from your Microsoft Outlook. Please do not to open any Zip file email attachment appearing to have been sent from your friends and family unless you are expecting that file.

NB. Most or all new anti-virus software is able to scan and remove malicious programs from Zip files.

Kind Regards,

A friend who wants to make the internet safe.

For more information about e-mail spoofing, click here.

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