According to this email, which purports to be from Virgin Media, you have been set up to receive bills from the company online. Supposedly, the company is upgrading to a new and improved payment system and you must therefore urgently upgrade your billing details or risk losing your email address. The email instructs you to click a “sign in” link to perform the upgrade.
However, the email is not from Virgin Media. It is a phishing scam designed to trick you into submitting your personal and financial information to cybercriminals. If you click the link in the email, you will be taken to a fake website designed to look like a genuine Virgin Media webpage.
The fake page will ask you login to your Virgin Media account. After logging in, you will be redirected to a second fake page that asks you to provide your PayPal account login details as well as your banking and credit card information. After filling in the form, you will be redirected to the genuine Virgin media website.
Meanwhile, the scammers can collect all of the information you have submitted and use it to hijack your Virgin Media and PayPal accounts and use your credit card details to commit fraudulent transactions in your name. The criminals may use the information to steal your identity.
Virgin Media has warned customers about this and other phishing attacks via its website. If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.
We have an entire chapter devoted to phishing scams and what to do about them in our eBook Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft, Internet Scams & Phone Scams
The book, written and published by Brett and Deborah Christensen, also discusses many other types of online and phone based security threats.The eBook is in Kindle format and is available right now on Amazon
Proceeds from book sales help fund Hoax-Slayer and allow us to continue our ongoing fight to make the Internet a safer and more enjoyable place in which to work and play.
EXAMPLE OF THE VIRGIN MEDIA PHISHING SCAM
Subject: Virgin Media Urgent Billing Update
Welcome Virgin Media Account: [Removed]
You’re now all set up to receive your bills online.
The classic billing version of your Virgin Media will be replaced by our new version.
So it’s time to upgrade, before you lose your email access.
When your next bill is ready for you to see, we’ll send you an e-mail to let you know.
Then simply log into Your Account and Update your billing details!
Sign into My Virgin Media.
New and improved payment system through PayPal.
When you upgrade your Virgin Media your email service won’t be affected and you’ll keep all your old contacts, folders and messages.
Kind regards,
The Virgin Media Support Team
Copyright © Virgin Media Ltd
Original Source : https://www.hoax-slayer.net/virgin-media-urgent-billing-update-phishing-scam/