Accounting and tax software provider Intuit has alerted customers to an ongoing phishing campaign impersonating the company and trying to lure victims with false warnings that their accounts have been suspended.
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Intuit's notification follows reports received from customers who were emailed and informed that their Intuit accounts were disabled following a recent server security.
“We have temporarily disabled your account due to inactivity. You must restore your access within the next 24 hours,” the attackers state in phishing emails, disguised as Intuit’s maintenance team.
“This is a result of our recent security upgrade to our server and database, to combat vulnerability and account theft as we begin the new tax season.”
Recipients are instructed to immediately go to https://proconnect.intuit.com/Pro/Update to restore access to their accounts.
Clicking on the link will likely redirect them to a phishing site controlled by the attackers that is designed to infect them with malware or collect their financial or personal information.
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Those who might think twice before clicking on the embedded link are warned that they may permanently lose access to their accounts.
The financial software maker said it is not behind these emails and that the sender “is not affiliated with Intuit, is not an authorized representative of Intuit, nor is the use of Intuit trademarks authorized by Intuit.”
How to avoid phishing
The company urges all customers who have received one of these phishing emails not to click on embedded links or open attachments.
The recommended way to deal with these phishing attempts is to delete the emails to avoid infection with malware or redirection to a phishing page that will try to convince you to hand over credentials .
Customers who have already opened attachments or clicked on links in such phishing messages should do the following:
- Delete all downloaded files immediately.
- Scan their systems using an up-to-date anti-malware solution.
- Change your passwords.
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Intuit has also shared relevant information about how its customers can protect themselves from phishing attacks on its support website.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
