Inboxes are currently being hit by bogus “payment remittance” emails that supposedly include details about a SWIFT payment.
SWIFT is a payment network that allows the transfer of funds internationally and is used by many financial institutions around the world.
However, these emails have no connection to SWIFT and do not contain information about a genuine payment.
The emails include what appears to be a PDF attachment that supposedly contains the payment details. However, clicking the “attachment” does not open a PDF. Instead, it opens a website that harbours malware disguised as the remittance document.
Details, such as the name of the supposed sender, the subject line, and footer information may vary in different versions of the scam emails. If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.
Here’s a screenshot of one of the scam emails:
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
