Origin warns against clever new ‘view bill’ scam

Origin Energy has warned there’s a new scam making the rounds and it’s targeting innocent Aussies. 

The energy company says the scam is disguised as an electricity bill, but is actually a sneaky ploy to tamper with your computer. Origin has issued an alert on their website, advising clients to not click on any links in the email. 

“We’re hearing reports of customers and non-customers receiving fake Origin bills from these fraudulent email addresses: @energyland.net   @energyonline.info   @energycompany.info   @energy-system.net  @energyaustralia.info @energyaustralia.info.com. If you get one of these emails, please don’t click any links in it and report it at www.scamwatch.gov.au.”

Read more: Watch out: ATO warns against ‘malicious’ new email tax scam

The alert comes after software security company MailGuard detected the email scam, which is using fake Origin branding to make it look like an electricity bill notification. 

MailGuard says the email contains a “view bill” link button, and although it isn’t clear at this time what type of malicious content this email links to, MailGuard “suspects it is a virus download of some sort”.

The software security company has since warned social media users to beware of the scam, telling people “to not be fooled” by this well-designed scam. 

“Fake Origin electricity bill email – don’t be fooled by this well designed scam using spoofed @originenergy branding.”

Fake Origin electricity bill email – don’t be fooled by this well designed scam using spoofed @originenergy brandinghttps://t.co/qK5gDMDEKm#emailscam #cybersecurity #scamalert pic.twitter.com/Ed0pZfpbvm

— MailGuard (@MailGuard) March 27, 2018

Scams are everywhere, and scammers are working harding and harder to get their hands on your hard earned money, Origin said. 

Read more: New missed-call scam is hitting Australia right now

So how can you protect yourself from the scam? If you’ve received the email, Origin advises deleting immediately and contacting their office. Do not click on links, open attachment, download pictures or forward the email. 

“Scam emails (otherwise known as “phishing”) set out to deceive people into providing their personal details. These fake emails often include a corporate logo and look like they’ve come from a legitimate company,” the energy company said. 

To spot a scam Origin says to look out for suspicious email addresses, and to note that all Origin bills will always include your account and customer number. 

Are you confident you’d be able to identify an email scam? Have you been caught out in an email scam?

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