Are the phish biting?

April 11, 2011 7:03 PM

Does this type of e-mail scam affect Macintosh computers as well as PCs?

Thanks for any info!

From Google:

"Canada Post is also warning its customers about a scam — this time online.

Some people have received an email for tracking parcels that uses Canada Post's logo.

One email circulating advised recipients that a package had been shipped to them with the tracking number "RT094860142HK" and that an attachment in the email would allow them to track it. When the attachment in the email is opened, a virus could be installed on the user's computer and be used to gain access to the user's online banking information.

Canada Post says it never sends out these types of emails and that package tracking can be done through its website at canadapost.ca."

posted by analog to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: Generally code that is executable on Windows is not executable on Macs and vice versa; these sort of email scams are almost universally aimed at naive users with unpatched Windows boxes.
posted by mhoye at 7:10 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: While what mhoye said is true, if there is a virus or worm attached to the email, *everyone* is vulnerable to phishing scams, because everyone who gets email can click a link and be tricked into entering their information at the wrong (but seemingly identical) website. Browsers are starting to have safeguards against this (telling you that a site has been reported, for example) but it's better to educate yourself on how to avoid phishing attacks. One example of how to do this is to not click the link in the email, but instead type "mybank.com" into your browser and go directly to the site that way.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:19 PM on April 11, 2011

Best answer: Simple answer: no, this scam would not affect Macintosh users.
posted by wyzewoman at 6:30 AM on April 12, 2011