'Malicious' document sparks PSNI cyber crime warning

The PSNI Cyber Crime Centre has issued scam warning after a 'malicious' document was emailed and circulated to several organisations in Northern Ireland.
The PSNI issued the warning on Tuesday after a 'malicious PDF document' was circulated throughout Northern Ireland.The PSNI issued the warning on Tuesday after a 'malicious PDF document' was circulated throughout Northern Ireland.
The PSNI issued the warning on Tuesday after a 'malicious PDF document' was circulated throughout Northern Ireland.

"It appears that the email is being circulated by compromising an email account then spamming the contact list for that account. This has known to have passed through several organisations and sectors in Northern Ireland," said the PSNI.

The Cyber Crime Centre's advice to anyone who is in any doubt about unsolicited emails is to not open the email or click on the attachment.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Harvey outlined several straightforward steps people can take to reduce the risk of falling victim to such a scam.

“We would remind all businesses to make sure that system patches are applied and anti-virus applications are kept up to date and to take steps to protect themselves by making sure employees are aware of the following:

∙ Do not click or open unfamiliar links in emails or on websites.

∙ Check the legitimacy of any email received.

∙ Use two factor authentication for processing payments.

∙ Ensure you have up-to-date anti-virus software and perform regular scans, including scans for malware.

∙ If you have clicked or activated any malicious link you should seek professional advice from a reputable company.”

Further advice on protecting your business can be found at www.getsafeonline.org and www.nidirect.gov.uk/scamwiseni