Police Warn of Valentine’s Email Scam in Spain

OFFICERS from the National Police are warning of a ‘malware’ email scam in the form of a Valentine’s Day card in Spain.

Police have warned cybercriminals are using Valentine’s Day to send malware emails to unsuspecting victims, before infecting their computers with a virus in Spain.

Taking to their Twitter account, the National Police said the email appears as a Valentine’s Day postcard and that anyone who receives such a scam message should not click to download the card.

They say this will allow hackers to upload malicious software to the victim’s device and extract personal data.

Panda, one anti-virus software company, has advised consumers on what they should do to make sure they do not fall victim to online email scams.

The company said: “Do not open emails or messages received on social networks that come from unknown sources.

“Do not follow any link that arrives by email, Facebook, Twitter or any social network or instant messaging. It is best to type the URL directly into the browser bar.

“If the link is clicked and it leads to an unrecognised landing page, close the browser immediately. In the event that nothing strange is seen on the destination website, but you are requested to download something, do not accept. If you download and install an executable file, the moment it starts to launch messages, you may be facing ‘malware’.

“Do not click on attachments that come from unknown sources. In the case of these scams, suspect any files that come with subjects or names related to Valentine’s Day, photos or romantic messages.

“Have antivirus software installed and updated.”

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