Fake surveys circulating

This one’s no Kmart special. A fake Kmart survey being delivered via email is actually a phishing attack. The email arrives with the caption, “you have been selected,” and then goes on to say that the recipient has been selected to participate in a special Kmart survey, and receive a $150 gift certificate. A similar phishing attack was recently making the rounds pretending to be WalMart.

Now whenever I get something like this I’m always suspicious. There are legitimate surveys, and sometimes there is a freebie involved, although it’s not usually that generous. And then here’s the red flag: There’s a link in the email, which takes the victim to a site that doesn’t even look like a Kmart site; then the email also asks for personal information (including account number information).

The attackers aren’t too clever, and it’s a thinly-disguised ruse, particularly since the form itself isn’t on a spoofed Kmart page, and the URL the email tries to send you to isn’t from Kmart, but rather, is one that includes the obviously bogus word “epiqteen” in the address. But they do at least make some attempts by creating a legitimate-looking survey, and sending the victim to the real Kmart web site after completing the survey.

There are two tips to remember to combat these sorts of phishing attacks: First, beware of emails offering to give you free money. Second, always look at the URL the email is trying to send you to. In most cases, simply passing your cursor over the link will reveal the true URL.