14 DAY TRIAL // Barclays customers beware! Cybercriminals are sending out fake transaction notifications in an effort to trick unsuspecting users into installing malware on their computers.
The emails in question carry the subject line “Barclays transaction notification” and they read something like this:
“Transaction is completed. £9685 has been successfully transfered. If the transaction was made by mistake please contact our customer service. Receipt of payment is attached.”
The attachment is not a receipt of payment, but an archive file that holds a malicious executable named “Payment receipt Barclays PA77392733.exe,” Dynamoo’s Blog reports.
At the time of writing, only Sophos recognizes the threat’s signature. If you come across such emails, act with caution. Emails that have archive files attached to them are usually part of a cybercriminal operation.
If you’ve already launched the malicious executable, regularly scan your computer with an updated antivirus. Even if some solutions might not detect the threat right away, they probably will after a few virus definition database updates.