Police Spam Email

Subject: Police Spam Email

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This is a message sent via The Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network (England & Wales). This information has been sent on behalf of Action Fraud (National Fraud Intelligence Bureau)

(Please do not reply directly to this email, please use the Reply button at the bottom of this message)

Message sent by

Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

There is email in circulation that appears to have been sent from a legitimate Lancashire Constabulary email address. The email appears to come from ‘Lyn Whitehead’ and is asking the recipient to pay an invoice that is attached to the email.
The email has not been generated from inside the Constabulary or by the Constabulary. This email has not been sent from Lancashire Constabulary. A third party supplier to the Constabulary has had their data breached, as a result of the breach this Lancashire Constabulary email address has been spoofed and used to generate spam to recipients far and wide.
This type of email is commonly referred to as spam, and if you have received it you MUST NOT open it. Instead delete it from your email system to avoid infecting your device.
Protect Yourself:

• Do not click or open unfamiliar links in emails or on websites
• Make sure you install and use up-to-date anti-virus software
• Have a pop-up blocker running in the background of your web browser
• If you have opened the attachment and ‘enabled macros’ it is very likely that all your personal data will have been breached. You MUST change all your passwords for personal accounts, including your bank accounts.

If you believe you have become a victim of this get your device checked over by a professional.
If you think you have been a victim of this type of email you should report it to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre. www.actionfraud.police.uk
If you do make a report please provide as much detail as you can about the email and any effects it has had on your computer. Additionally if your Anti-Virus software detects any issues in relation to this email please provide us with the details.
More information can be found on Lancashire Constabulary website
http://www.lancashire.police.uk/news/2015/october/email-virus-alert.aspx
You can get more advice on this by visiting the following websites:
The most common Internet Scams are updated on http://www.cyberstreetwise.com/common-scams