Cyber attackers have been targeting Westpac customers this week but by the looks of things they didn’t put much effort into their attack as the phishing emails appear to be pretty low-tech. Nonetheless let’s get into the details of the fake phishing email.

It’s low-tech because the initial email is written all in plain-text despite having a @westpac.com.au sender email. The email subject states: “Your Account Is Locked” with the body of email mentioning that the account has been locked “as a result of technical issues detected”. The link where recipients should click on is written as: “RESOLVE IT HERE” – very unprofessional and amateurish.

Courtesy of MailGuard – Westpac phishing email

The link takes victims to a replica of the Westpac banking website, hosted on the unrelated domain of a Tanzanian guesthouse, which was likely compromised in an earlier cyber hack. The attackers made no attempt whatsoever to cloak the URL therefore the address bar displays, loudly and proudly, the unrelated domain of a Tanzanian guesthouse.

Courtesy of MailGuard – Westpac phishing email

Now, we’re quietly confident that nobody would fall victim to this particular phishing email scam as it appears that the primary intention of the attackers was for the email to pass through email filters and email security (plain-text body). The attackers obviously didn’t put much time or effort into making sure the email looked like the real thing – or maybe it was in fact their best attempt to look genuine.

Whatever the reason we suggest you get in touch with your bank directly to see if in fact your account has been locked.

IntelliTeK are always up to date with the latest threats to emails and IT security which is why we only partner with the best in the industry. If your company isn’t fully equipped to fend off cyber criminals, then get in touch with us so we can discuss your options. Call us on 1300 768 779, email us at info@intellitek.com.au, fill out the web form, or have a Live Chat with us below.