Convincing “Urgent Windows Error Fix” phishing email doing rounds

A pretty convincing email phishing campaign is targeting one of the largest user bases out there – those who use Microsoft’s Windows OS – by taking advantage of the recent problems that the company has been having with updates.

The email, sporting a big Microsoft logo at the beginning, says that an “urgent Windows Error Fix” is available for download.

“Windows Installer package update is required to automatically eliminate obsolete patches in your sequence of patches as a report on our server indicates an error code (0x700) as a result of a failed update. Every installer sequence patch is being linked to an email account. Fill in the error code and other details to automatically fix this error,” it continues, and offers a link to a page where the victim is supposed to “fill in details & Error code”.

But the link does not lead to a legitimate HTTPS-protected Microsoft page. Instead, it takes users to a spoofed one where they are asked to enter the error code, but also their email address and the password for that email account:

Sophos’ Paul Ducklin says that while they they disapprove of every phishing attempt, they must admit that occasionally – such as this time – phishers show “a resourceful sense of occasion” and come up with an email that will likely not be deleted without a second thought.

While it is obvious that poorly-executed phishing emails still dupe victims, cyber scammers are, naturally, looking for ways to maximise that number with every campaign.