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Fraud: Order Confirmation

Why this looks valid

  • The originating email may appear to be from a valid business
  • The message includes details common to purchase notifications or invoices
  • The email may be personalized, addressed directly to the recipient in the body of the message

Why this is fraud

  • The originating email address may look valid, but on closer inspection it comes from gmail or another email service that has no relation to the vendor mentioned in the email
  • The phone number in the confirmation is not a valid Microsoft customer service number - this can be confirmed by using Google to search the phone number in the email
  • Grammatical errors are indicators of malicious emails

Additional notes

  • How does this scam work?  If you call the number in the email, the person on the line will ask you for your bank account or credit card account information, and then make unauthorized purchases using your account
  • A little paranoia goes a long way! Be suspicious of any email messages with a phone number – always contact the company’s publicized customer service number and not what you see in an email