(MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH, ON) On Wednesday October 26, 2011 an Atwood resident contacted the Perth County OPP and reported receiving an email advising him of a speeding violation from the New York State Police. The resident explained that he had not travelled in New York State. This email prompted the resident to open an attached file to see the ticket which would allow him to contest the charge in court.
The Perth County OPP officer told the resident that the message is not from the New York State Police and the attachment does not contain a speeding ticket. In fact, the attachment contained a Trojan that, if opened, can install itself on the user’s computer. Typically, such Trojans are able to contact a remote server and download further malware that can steal information from the infected computer and allow criminals to control it from afar.
It is the hopes of these criminals that the message received from the police will panic people into opening the attachment without due care and attention. Many people who receive one of these emails will not even have been in the location described. Fearing a major error by the police they open the attachment with the intention of sending off the supposed ticket and pleading their innocence. This is an effective social engineering trick which has been very useful for scammers over the years.
Police departments are unlikely to send people traffic violations by means of unsolicited emails. Be very cautions of any unsolicited email that claims to be from police or a government department instructing you to open an attached file or follow a link. Such tactics are commonly used by criminals intent on distributing malware or tricking recipients into divulging personal and financial information via phishing scams.