“You Have Been Issued With a Traffic Infringement”; Malware Email
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
Email claims that you have been issued with a traffic infringement and have received a large fine. The email urges you to click a link to download a “Notice Declaration” about the alleged infringement.
Subject: FW::NOTICE DECLARATION – 908180100768
Hello [Name Removed]
You have been issued with a traffic infringement:Infringement No: AA7282632712
Camera Address:, State-QLD, ZIP-4165
Date of issue: 6/11/2016
Amount due: $ 878.69AUD
Download Notice Declaration
The fee must be accredited within the statutory period of up to 12.19.2016.
[Name Varies]
What the fact-checkers found
The email is not an official traffic infringement notice. Clicking the link downloads a.zip file that contains a JavaScript (.js) file inside. If you click this.js file, a malicious JavaScript can download and install malware on your computer.
The malware that is installed may be ransomware. Ransomware can encrypt the files on your computer and then demand that you pay a fee to online criminals to receive the decryption key. Or, the malware may be designed to steal sensitive information such as banking passwords from the infected computer.
Names, dates, fine amounts, and other details may vary in different versions of these malware emails.
This is just one version in a long line of bogus traffic infringement emails that have been used to distribute malware in recent years.
If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.
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