Receiving Fake Cox Emails?
Cox High Speed Internet
customers have been targeted as potential victims of a Phishing
scheme. These emails claim to be from Cox Communications asking
customers to click on a link to verify account information. Cox
Communications has not and will not send an email asking users
to verify any account information. We recommend simply deleting
this message.
These
emails are fraudulent and did not originate from Cox
Communications
.
The
following email sample show how they target you:
Sample Message 1:
How do I know if an email is from Cox or not?
There is no failsafe method for identifying fraud. However, Cox
never collects personal information from customers via email. If
you get an email asking for you to provide account information,
credit or banking information, or log-on information, you can be
sure that it is not from Cox.
How can I spot a fraudulent email?
Customers must always use their judgment in reviewing items that
make their way into their inbox. It's an unfortunate reality of
the Internet that thieves and hackers are continuously
bombarding the inboxes of Internet users with fraudulent emails.
Cox works employs the latest technology and methods to try and
filter potentially destructive email from ever reaching our
customers. We also offer an additional layer of protection in
the form of optional spam filtering.
If you have not turned on spam
filtering for your Cox.net email addresses, you should consider
doing so.
Below are a few common characteristics in phishing schemes:
-
The
thief will tell you that you must act quickly in order to
avoid some negative consequence, like account termination.
-
There are embedded links in
the email that take you to a website that looks like that of
your service provider or financial institution because it
includes all or part of the company's name
.
There are forms on these web
sites that ask you to provide personal information.
-
Spelling
errors are often used in the subject lines of the email to
help avoid spam filtering by ISPs and/or your spam filtering
provider.
What is Cox doing about this?
We are updating this online support with messaging particular to
this latest scam. Our Email and Security & Abuse teams
immediately began to identify characteristics of these emails to
apply filters. It is notoriously difficult to locate and
prosecute Internet thieves. However, when possible, Cox always
supports authorities in prosecuting these criminals to the full
extent of the law.
What should
I do if I receive one of these emails ?
Do not follow or click on any of the imbedded links. Delete the
email from your inbox and empty your deleted items folder so
that neither you nor anyone else who accesses this email box
will act on this email.
What can I do to protect myself from this sort of thing in the
future?
Always remain vigilant when receiving emails from any company
you do business with. Treat any requests for the provision of
information with suspicion.
-
Don't
click on links in unsolicited emails.
-
Change
your passwords frequently.
-
Bookmark
Cox.com, Cox.net, Cox-internet.com, and Support.Cox.net.
These are the valid Cox URLs.
Virus Removal & Information
If you have opened an attachment of a suspect email or believe
your computer has this virus, you may visit one of the following websites
which contain more information
and removal instructions:
The link below will take you to a free McAfee anti-virus removal
tool called 'AVERT Stinger' that should be able to locate and
remove this infection:
Want to help stop the spread
of email these emails? You can help!
Have you received a suspicious
email? Click here
to see instructions on how you can help.
We apologize for any inconvenience
that this may cause you.
As always, if you need assistance, you can reach our 24/7
Technical Support Team at 1-888-822-5151.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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