Rule of thumb: if an e-mail looks suspicious, for whatever reason, don't click on any attachments or links. And send it to the trash. Photo: Shutterstock

Rule of thumb: if an e-mail looks suspicious, for whatever reason, don't click on any attachments or links. And send it to the trash. Photo: Shutterstock

It rained and poured during Q3 in the field of phishing in Luxembourg, according to the latest report from Post's Cyberforce, which summarises the cybersecurity threats the country faces.

July and August were the months with the fewest cyber security incidents since the Post's Cyberforce Cyber Security Weather was introduced. September saw a return to normal activity with 60 incidents, or two per day.

Two out of three incidents were still phishing (68%), including “bulk”, i.e. the sending of mass emails to retrieve residents’ accounts that end in “@pt.lu”, notes the Cyberforce. These e-mails increasingly rely on Excel, where recipients of the fraudulent e-mail have to fill in three fields, such as their e-mail address and password. This should obviously not be done, especially since banks do not communicate in this way.

And while spelling is often the first way to spot an attempted scam, Cyberforce also notes that “careful design of web pages increases their credibility”. One of the three illustrations used in the newsletter imitates Post’s branding to ask for a credit card number, expiry date and CVV number to pay a bill. Again, of course, none of this information should be given out, as it would allow a malicious hacker to carry out transactions in the user’s place.

Another cause for concern is that the number of fraudulent calls posing as Microsoft technical support, often originating from the UK, Germany or Switzerland, has again been very high despite police warnings. Do not pick up or call back. Those making these calls are either trying to find out if the person is at home, or trying to get them to call back to a premium rate number which will increase the phone bill, or sometimes even to extract personal information from the call back.

Finally, Cyberforce warns of the emergence of a malicious software called SquirrelWaffle used as a “bridge” for other software specialised in stealing bank data or taking control of the infected computer. At the very least, attachments should not be clicked on. In an analysis, Talos explains that these e-mails are formatted like an e-mail discussion, mainly in English.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.