14 DAY TRIAL // The FBI’s office in Knoxville issued a warning to inform people on the existence of a scam email that invites recipients to enroll to the Robert English Soccer Academy, an allegedly newly-founded club. Individuals who fall for the plot are requested to provide tons of sensitive data that can be used by the cybercrooks to commit identity fraud.
Spam Fighter informs that the malicious message comes with a link which, when clicked, takes the user to a site that's designed to look like perfectly legitimate, requesting the victims to provide information such as Social Security Number, credit card details, mother’s maiden name, and other data.
This data obtained in this phishing expedition is more than enough to aid scammers to gain access to bank accounts and other digital assets that may be of any worth.
Users are advised to be on the lookout for similar spam campaigns and ignore any request they make.
Refrain from providing private information in response to unsolicited emails and in situations where supplying credit card and other sensitive data is necessary, always check that the website in which the information is entered is vouched-for by an SSL certificate (symbolized by the small padlock on the left side of the browser's address bar).
In many situations, security solutions providers design their products to warn about phishing websites or other schemes that don’t necessarily involve a piece of malware, which is why reliable up-to-date protection software is always recommended.
If you have already fallen victim to this or other scams, authorities recommend that you immediately apply for credit monitoring services with your bank.
Also, these fraud attempts can be reported to Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov, or to the Federal Trade Commission’s e-mail address [email protected], specially designed for these types of complaints.