We have recently received an email from a client asking if the below email was a scam or the real thing. You can normally tell from a few giveaway lines, like grammatical or spelling errors, or through the responding email address being different to that displayed on the email. Looking through this email, it looked good and it looked legit – but it wasn’t. When I searched through it, there was a link to a file to open on the email which contained a zip file. I was immediately suspicious then. We contacted ASIC to see what they said and they confirmed it did not come from them.
Had the client opened the zip file they could have had viruses put on their computer like Crypto Locker, which can shut down your system until you pay a ransom to have your files unlocked.
If you receive any email from government departments, I would be very surprised it would contain a zip file. Do not open zip files from government departments (or any other emails unless you know they have not been hacked) because it is a good chance it is a virus. If you have any doubts, contact us, or contact the department directly. Do not follow links or call numbers on the email, as they may direct you to false websites. Look up the details yourself and give them a call.
See the email below:
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Please find information in the following link regarding the renewal for your company.
Renewal letter
Select this link to view, save or print the information. This link will remain active for 30 days.
If you no longer need your business name to be registered, please email us at bncancel@asic.gov.au and include:
- your business name;and
- your name and telephone number (including area code).
If you have any questions, contact us at www.asic.gov.au/question
Regards,
Jonathan Campbell
Senior Executive Leader
Registry
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
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Information collected by ASIC may contain personal information. Please refer to our Privacy policy http://www.asic.gov.au/privacy for information about how we handle your personal information, your rights to seek access to and correct personal information, and how to complain about breaches of your privacy by ASIC.
NOTICE
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