The federal government has escalated a warning for internet users to be wary of an email scam involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The communications department said that cyber attackers have revived a scam which first appeared early in 2015 that attempts to lure victims to open links that will infect their computers with malware.
The AFP first warned of the scam in Twitter posting last month however the department repeated the warning today.
The department said that emails claim that the recipient has received a traffic infringement notice from the AFP and invite them to click on links for “further information”.
Clicking the link to the malicious software payload was likely to allow the hackers access to a victims computer and personal information. It may also be ransomware exposing the victim to claims for hundreds of dollars to unlock their computer files.
The emails were well crafted to appear authentic, the government warned.
“The scam email incorporates the AFP logo and has few if any of the grammatical or typographical errors that typically characterise scam emails,” the department wrote in a notice issued earlier today.
The email scam first appeared in April 2015 and at the time federal police authorities called on internet users to delete the emails immediately. However, in addition to deleting the emails, the AFP has asked consumer to report them to its new Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN).
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