Over the past few years, hackers and scammers have gotten increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to scam people of their hard-earned money. However, unlike traditional methods that involve crafting an authentic-looking phishing email with proper grammar, scammers are now reportedly replacing lengthy text with a single image, preying on people’s curiosity and trust.
Cybersecurity researchers from Check Point Harmony Email, who first discovered this incident, have found that scammers are luring unsuspecting users by creating flyers and promotional images that claim they have won prizes from big brands like Best Buy and Amazon. Therefore, when a user clicks on the image, which contains a hyperlink, scammers redirect them to a phishing page where they unknowingly disclose their personal information, including email addresses, passwords, personally identifiable data, and other valuable details that the threat actors can exploit.
Furthermore, by embedding the hyperlink in the image, scammers can also bypass URL filters used by popular email services like Gmail and Outlook, as well as other security measures, thus raising some serious concerns.
How to stay protected?
When it comes to organizations, researchers at Check Point Harmony Email have recommended companies like Google and Microsoft implement robust security measures and analyze all URLs in incoming emails, including those embedded within images.
However, as users, it is crucial to exercise caution when dealing with any suspicious email that lands in your inbox. Firstly, carefully analyze the sender’s email address and look for the new verified checkmark after the email address, indicating authenticity. Secondly, avoid clicking on any links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails and inspect the link by hovering over it.
Lastly, scammers often use a sense of urgency as a tactic to prevent you from noticing the telltale signs of a scam. Therefore, if you receive an email like this, take your time to analyze all aspects and do not click on anything without being sure.