As the 2023 tax season continues, a new phishing scam has emerged, in which hackers create free Quickbooks accounts and use them to steal money and information from end users.
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Avanan, a subsidiary of Check Point Software Technologies, reported that BEC 3.0 is currently affecting businesses like PayPal and Google – among many others. This sophisticated approach to fraud can be extremely profitable for perpetrators if their schemes go undetected or unchecked.
BEC 3.0 is the newest form of phishing and allows hackers to sign up for a free account somewhere, send misleading invoices or other communications with malicious content embedded in. This type of attack poses an unprecedented risk to businesses and organizations if they are not equipped to detect these threats in a timely manner.
QuickBooks is an accounting software package developed and marketed by Intuit.
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Cybercriminals are attacking businesses by sending fake invoices from a verified QuickBooks domain. This email appears to be sent directly from QuickBooks, has a valid QuickBooks address, and passes all email authentication tests. The message does not contain any malicious links or signs of wrongdoing per se. Businesses should be aware of this threat, as it can lead to financial losses if not detected in time!
Jeremy Fuchs, Avanan’s content marketing manager, noted that in BEC 3.0 “conventional phishing hygiene tricks are no longer effective.” He cited a case study of a misleading Norton Lifelock invoice as an example.
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“You can’t tell the difference in the sender’s address,” he said. “At first glance, these links look trustworthy and well-crafted. But why are they asking for payment for Norton Lifelock? Honestly, many people use Norton Lifelock for both personal and professional purposes. Therefore, it is essential that users carefully examine this email – but let’s face it – how many of them actually do? To stay safe online we need to educate end users to be vigilant against all kinds of threats.”
According to Fuchs, it's incredibly easy to create and deliver an invoice with a free QuickBooks subscription.
Information source: channelfutures.com
