Holiday-themed scams are among the most popular ways for cyber criminals to get their hands on valuable information or lure users into donating small amounts of money as the first step towards a big win. This year the crooks have used their social engineering skills to create a fake Microsoft Easter lottery email. The deceitful message is allegedly sent to a selected few that are in for a solid cash prize.
The Scam Email Message
The victims of the latest scam are promised $1.4 million. The winners’ selection is supposedly a part of a Microsoft Easter campaign organized by their UK division.
The crooks even used the logo of the company in the attached file, as well as pictures of the Microsoft UK staff, in order to make the email more credible.
All the “winners” need to do in order to get their reward is reply to the original message with personal data to verify their identity in the next 29 days. The victims are asked not to mention the campaign.
The following information is requested:
- Full name
- Address
- Age
- Occupation
- Gender
- Nationality
- Phone number
- Country
All of the required data can be used in different scams and eventually lead to financial losses for the victim.
Small Fees for the Big Prize
Reportedly, if the victims decide to respond to the scam email, they will be asked to pay small fees that are supposedly needed to cover banking charges and insurance costs.
Needless to say, the promised prize is never delivered, but the hackers will do their best to squeeze as much money as possible from the victim. This is a classic case of an advanced fee scam that may lead to significant losses.