Health & Fitness
Connecticut Better Business Bureau Warns Fake Funeral Notices are Making the Rounds
Connecticut Better Business Bureau urges consumers to be wary of emails claiming to be about a funeral announcement.
Clicking on Links within Phony Funeral Announcements Will Download Malware into Your Computer
Cyber criminals are playing upon the saddest events in an effort to install malicious software onto consumers’ computers, according to Connecticut Better Business Bureau.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers report they are receiving bogus funeral announcements that contain a link to enable the recipient to supposedly download a “funeral invitation.”
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Although the email may look like it comes from a legitimate funeral home, when victims click on the link, it downloads “malware,” which is malicious software or a virus that can be used to monitor all online activity, including capturing your login information and passwords.
Malware can wreak havoc on your computer, make it crash, access your contacts and send SPAM mail in your name, as well as commit fraud and steal personal information.
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The emails do not address the recipient by name. If you receive such an announcement, do not click on any links within or reply to it. Instead, call the funeral home to see if the notice is legitimate.
Better Business Bureau offers additional tips to protect your computer and personal information from criminals:
- Consider a link or attachment in email as potentially dangerous, unless you know who sent it.
- Install and regularly update anti-malware software, and scan your computer weekly. Also, install operating system and software updates, as these tend to patch vulnerabilities that might allow a hacker to burrow into your computer.
- Be wary of pop-ups that may tell you there is a problem with your computer and encourages you to allow their system to an online scan or buy software to repair the problem.
- Check your browser security options to prevent pop-ups and other activity that may allow third parties to compromise your data.
Finally, keep a regular backup of your data, including browser bookmarks, documents, contact information other professional or personal files. Even if your computer is not compromised by a hacker, internal storage systems may fail for a variety of reasons.
-Howard Schwartz, Executive Communications Director, Connecticut Better Business Bureau
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