Something a bit phishy in your inbox? You can now email suspected frauds straight to Blighty's web takedown cops
- Reference: 1587471606
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/21/ncsc_email_scam_takedown_address/
- Source link:
The cybersecurity service, an offshoot of eavesdropping agency GCHQ, said it has set up an "automated programme" that will "immediately test the validity of the site" if one is mentioned in a phishing email.
"Any sites found to be phishing scams will be removed immediately," NCSC declared.
To make use of this, simply email it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Lest this sounds a bit too similar to the [1]widely ridiculed Action Fraud organisation , NCSC added: "If people have lost money, they should tell their bank and report it as a crime to Action Fraud, but the new Suspicious Email Reporting Service will offer an automated service to people who flag what they think to be a suspicious email."
Google: We've blocked 126 million COVID-19 phishing scams in the past week [2]READ MORE
NCSC boasted this morning that its "existing takedown services" have already removed more than 2,000 online scams related to COVID-19 in the last month, including hundreds of fake online shops selling fraudulent coronavirus-related items, malware distribution sites, phishing sites "seeking personal information such as passwords or credit card details" and more than 800 "advance-fee frauds", which is "where a large sum of money is promised in return for a set-up payment."
Ciaran Martin, NCSC chief exec, said in a canned statement:
"With greater use of technology, there are different ways attackers can harm all of us. But everyone can help to stop them by following the guidance campaign we have launched today. But even with the best security in place, some attacks will still get through. That's why we have created a new national reporting service for suspicious emails – and if they link to malicious content, it will be taken down or blocked. By forwarding messages to us, you will be protecting the UK from email scams and cyber crime."
NCSC also reiterated its cybersecurity advice, including exhortations to use separate passwords for separate online accounts, use a password manager (including your browser's built-in one if you don't feel like shelling out for a commercial service), use multi-factor authentication and to install patches and updates as soon as they're available. ®
Sponsored: [3]Legacy Modernization: Finding Your Way With Low-Code
[1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/21/action_fraud_computer_misuse_crimes_decrease/
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/17/google_coronavirus_spam/
[3] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8553/legacy-modernization-finding-your-way-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
Re: Obviously ==>
Without your consent? Do you really need the Official Secrets Act explaining to you, you mooncalf?
How long until the NCSC are receiving spam!?
Isn't that what they've asked for?
Not sure I trust
bungling bureaucrats to take down domains. If I forwarded them a phishing email they'd be more likely to take down my domain rather than the one in the forwarded email.
How will they know the difference between an actual spam / dodgy email coming in, and me forwarding one? The scammers will just bombard it with FW: Suspected phishing spam type emails just to overload the thing, and frustrate their efforts to take stuff down.
In fact I would expect the simplest way for the scammers to screw this is to keep reporting legitimate mainstream sites from across the world, using faked (scraped) email addresses.
Yep, drown it in false positives. Presumably the automation workloads have been specified to cater for this.
Yeah... I uh.
Did you know that the National Cyber Security Centre parent organisation is GCHQ? Pissing these people off with deliberate false reports is probably not the wisest idea going.
>Pissing these people off with deliberate false reports is probably not the wisest idea going.
So if I work for Putin or Pooh-bear and I use this to get them to block a bunch of pro-democracy or anti-government sites, what are GCHQ going to do - send a gunboat ?
A dentistry question
So what teeth do they have, in terms of following up, identifying and shutting down?
Most of my spam seems American in target, essentially shilling health care, an Orwellian nightmare. Let me guess, the jurisdiction is limited to our shores...
(and then there is the question of efficacy)
DDOS heaven
Now there is a target!
AC for obvious reasons...
So timely!
I am really pleased about this. I am fairly convinced that the dodgy bloke across the road has been secretly taking Penguin biscuits on his walk's - which twice this week have lasted more than 60 minutes - once a whole 62 minutes. Plus I know he has been out and bought an illegally frivolous foodstuff, because I saw a suspiciously French lookin baguette poking out of gis shopping bag, and no one needs to risk our country by going over to France for foodstuffs, but since my CCTV isn't working since I wrapped it in tinfoil to keep the postman's germs from contaminating my wifi I was unable to prove this. Now I can shop him for dodgy emails - I knew that 'Hi - Just reaching out to the street to see if anyone needs help' had to be a scam.....
and if you fancy a bit of spamming ... report@phishing.gov.uk
Obviously ==>
I'd be unwilling to volunteer any information to GCHQ because of its long history of taking it anyway without my consent.