{"id":26131,"date":"2023-06-22T11:48:16","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T10:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/vacation-schedule-scheme\/26131\/"},"modified":"2023-06-22T11:48:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T10:48:20","slug":"vacation-schedule-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/vacation-schedule-scheme\/26131\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacation schedule scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer finds many company employees gazing longingly out the window, glancing now and again at the calendar. You don\u2019t need to be a psychic to read the word \u201cvacation\u201d in their minds. Neither do cybercriminals \u2013 who exploit such sentiments through phishing. The goal, as ever, is to coax out corporate credentials. We explore such scams and explain what you need to look out for.<\/p>\n

Phishing email<\/h2>\n

\nThe aim is to get the phishing link clicked. To achieve this, the attackers need to shut down the critical-thinking side of the victim\u2019s brain, usually by scaring or intriguing them. Chances are, in early summer, mentioning the vacation schedule will do the job. At this time, many employees already have plans made, tickets bought, hotels booked. If vacation dates suddenly change, all these plans will go up in smoke. Therefore, scammers send emails supposedly from HR on the vacation topic: it might be a sudden rescheduling, the need to confirm the dates, or a clash with some important events. Such emails look something like this:<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/p>\n

Since in this case it\u2019s a question of mass, not spear phishing, it\u2019s quite easy to spot the attackers\u2019 tricks. The main thing is to resist the urge to instantly click the link to see your revised vacation dates. If we examine the email more closely, it becomes clear that:\n<\/p>\n