Phishing Alert: Fraudulent Email Claiming to be Amazon Kindle e-book Receipt Contains Links to Harmful Web Sites

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Computing Services and Systems Development (CSSD) has received reports of an email phishing scam being received by members of the University community. The email's Subject line is "Your Kindle e-book Amazon.com receipt" and it claims to contain details about your recent purchases. However, the message contains a fake billing address in the Order Information section. This message is a scam. It contains links to malicious Web sites that will infect your computer with harmful software. If you receive this message, delete it without replying.

If you have already clicked on a link in this email, contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP [4357] to report it.

No legitimate organization, including the University of Pittsburgh, will ever solicit confidential information (such as credit card information or your Pitt password) by any means. CSSD recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. You should also avoid clicking on links contained in such emails, as these may lead to sites that contain harmful software.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP [4357] if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Below is an example of the fraudulent email.

FRADULENT EMAIL EXAMPLE