Ofcom Spectrum Licensing Malware Emails

Inboxes are currently being hit by malware emails that falsely claim to be from Ofcom Spectrum Licensing. The emails claim that you should open an attached Microsoft Word file to view ‘important documents relating to your Wireless Telegraphy licence or application’.

However, the emails are not from UK regulator Ofcom and the attached file does not contain Spectrum Licensing information.

In fact, the emails are an attempt by online criminals to trick recipients into installing malware. Ofcom has warned consumers about the fake emails via a post on its website, which notes:

05|08|15 Some people have received an email that appears to have come from Ofcom spectrum licensing. The email has not been sent by Ofcom – it is a hoax and should be treated as spam and deleted. We have not experienced a breach of our data or systems, and we are investigating as a priority.

If you open the attached Word document, you will be instructed to enable macros to allow the document’s content to be viewed. However, if you enable macros as requested, a malicious macro will attempt to download and install further malware. Once installed, the malware can record sensitive information such as your bank account login credentials and send them to online criminals.

If you receive one of these emails, do not open any attachments or click any links that it contains.