Be Careful Of Scam Emails Targeting You & Your Club

As the Christmas trees everywhere and the Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey seemingly playing from every surface have surely tipped you off by now, Christmas is coming. 
 

 

And to be honest, this deep into the Christmas season, I have never related to Brain Damage by The Liligntons more. But all that is beside the point, I'm not here to complain about Christmas. I'm here to talk about something we all need to be careful of all year round, but especially at this time of the year; scam emails. 

Before you say, "oh they'll never trick me," and go back to watching YouTube or something, I need to say that scams are getting a lot better these days. People aren't getting messages from embattled African princes looking to move diamonds or gold out of the country anymore. Instead, scammers are now doing something called Clone phishing. Which, unfortunately, does not involve Agent 47 taking the day off to go catch bream. 

 

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, my photoshop skills are getting scary good. 

 

Instead, Clone Phishing is where scammers realistically duplicate formats, details and layouts of official emails and text messages to trick people into giving away important (often credit card) details. 

There are scary good at this. I got a text message earlier this year from what appeared to be Australia Post saying that the delivery of my package failed and I needed to contact them and give them details to arrange a delivery or pick up. This was so convincing that I nearly clicked on the link before I remembered that I hadn’t actually ordered anything, so the message must have been a scam. Maybe you’d have immediately been able to tell that this was a scam. I’m probably not the sharpest bulb in the box, but the point remains that scams are getting increasingly difficult to spot. 

Potential Stripe Clone Phishing Scam

The reason I’m writing this article is that a few days ago, a member of our team got a very convincing clone phishing email pretending to be from Stripe. As Stripe is the payment gateway that we use at Member Jungle, that means that all of our customers will have their own Stripe accounts and will be potential targets for this scam. 

A screenshot of the email is below. 

 

 

As you can see, this looks like a legitimate email from Stripe. For obvious reasons, none of us clicked the review business details button, but if we had, the best bet is that we would have been taken to a pretty convincing clone of a Stripe form and told that we needed to clear up the alleged unauthorised payments but to do that we would need to login in with all our important details. If we had, some scammer somewhere would have instant login access to our Stripe account. 

The way we could tell that this was in fact a scam was by checking the sender’s address, which was Stripe.com-memberjungle.com.au_review….. @up.net so definitely not from Stripe.

You can see a screenshot of this below. 

 

Please note that scammers can fake email addresses, intercept messages, and alter details. Therefore, a legitimate-looking email address does not always guarantee authenticity. If you receive an email or text message that seems suspicious, even if the address and details appear correct, it's best to contact the company directly. Make sure to find their phone number from a reliable source, not from the email itself, and verify whether the request is legitimate.

It may feel a bit awkward, but it is worth it. I once called a company to confirm whether a suspicious email was legitimate or not. The email was legitimate, but the company and the person I spoke to were happy I double-checked. No reasonable company will have a problem with you double-checking something before you give away your details.

As far as Stripe is concerned you can get more details on how to spot and handle potential scams at Stripe Support - Fraud.

You can also see an excerpt from Stripe’s support website below.    

“If you receive a phishing email claiming to be from Stripe, first check the URL in any links to ensure they point to a legitimate Stripe domain, such as stripe.com, e.stripe.com, or stripe.events. Be cautious of URLs that do not match these verified domains. Do not enter sensitive information if you are unsure about the email's legitimacy. Additionally, ensure that your Stripe account is secure with a strong password and two-step verification. If you suspect a phishing attempt, do not interact with the message, and take steps to secure your account, such as updating your credentials and enabling additional security measures.” 

Why You Need To Be Extra Careful Of Scams Around Christmas

Scams are a concern all year round, and the Stripe scam I mentioned has nothing to do with Christmas. However, I brought up Christmas in the introduction because scammers are likely to be extra active during this time of year.

With many people online shopping and starting to switch off during the holiday season, scams, such as the one involving Australia Post that I mentioned, are likely to be widespread. These scams can often look very realistic, so please exercise extra caution when making purchases and organising deliveries.

How to protect yourself from scams:

• Be wary of unsolicited emails, messages, or calls.
• Double-check the sender's address and any links before clicking.
• Never share personal or financial information via email or unsecure websites.
• Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
• Monitor your bank accounts and credit card statements regularly.
• If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Report any suspicious activity to the relevant authorities.

Being vigilant for scams all year round is important, especially at this time of year, but if you stay alert and double-check everything, I’m sure you will be fine. 

How Else Can You Keep Yourself & Your Club Safe Online?

If you are looking for some information on how Member Jungle keeps your data safe, read How does Member Jungle protect your data?

For more information on Member Jungle security, watch Data Security & Backups: Inside Member Jungle with Jeff Pond.