Win Free Fuel with BP Scam
An email branded to appear as though it was sent from BP has been caught by MailShark spam filters claiming you can win free fuel. BP is among the world’s top oil and gas companies and operates in over 80 countries. The scam email is using the wide reach of the brand name to increase their number of victims. Avoid falling for this scam at all costs and delete the email from your inbox if received.
Figure A shows the win free fuel with BP scam email in question. It is quite well branded and uses the BP logo and respective colours. The content claims they are giving away $500 BP gift cards and you have been selected as a potential winner. There is then a red call-to-action, saying “Participate Now”. Clicking this call-to-action will lead you to a malicious website which will attempt a malware infection.
The subject line reads “Get FREE fuel with BP”, which attracts the receiver’s attention. The sender is shown as “Support” and the email address used to send the email is in no way associated with the official BP website and is clearly spam. Please keep in mind, this email has several malicious links including imagery and the unsubscribe hyperlink – stay safe by not clicking within the email and deleting it immediately.
Figure B is a safely captured screenshot of the website you will land on if the malicious links within the email are clicked. It is not as well branded as the email itself, but still pushes the free fuel gift card. It includes a time limit for participation, an attempt to hurry your click through. Another tactic this scam uses is by stating there are only 3 vouchers left. You are asked to complete a short form to receive the voucher.
Do not click anywhere on this page or fill out the form, doing so will lead to a malware infection which will infect your computer and personal data.
If you reach the malicious website, we strongly suggest running your anti-virus or anti-malware software straight away. Although this email is marketed as free fuel it turns out to be a gift card scam; an all too common tactic caught by MailShark spam filters and reported on regularly. Delete this email if received to avoid the malware risk.
Steph Kent
MailShark
Free anti-spam service
Free email filter service