Don't open e-mails claiming to be from WhatsApp

WhatsApp users are being targeted by a phishing attack that attempts to trick people into downloading an attachment to their computer.

E-mails appear to come from WhatsApp and feature a subject that indicates that you have an audio file to download and listen to. Upon closer inspection, it’s immediately clear that the e-mail is not from WhatsApp. The subject line is also quite unusual, as it ends with a set of random characters.

Downloading the attachment unleashes the malware on your computer where it takes hold and spreads quite quickly. This could give the sender access to personal data or perhaps even control over your computer.

Director of Technology for Comodo and the Comodo Antispam Labs, Fatih Orhan, warned that those with malicious intent are getting sneakier with how they attack. “Cybercriminals are becoming more and more like marketers – trying to use creative subject lines to have unsuspecting emails be clicked and opened to spread malware.”