Email scam

It appears people have been receiving email from Otaki businesses over the last 48 hours with an attachment which either cannot be opened or is caught by anti-virus or anti-malware software.

The name attached to the email suggests it’s legitimate but the email address is in fact being “spoofed” and not being sent by the business at all.

Spoofing is where someone sends an email but changes the name and email address to suggest it has come from elsewhere.

Watson’s Garden have been included in this but we can assure our customers and suppliers we do not keep records of email addresses to contact people without reason.

If you receive an email you weren’t expecting which includes an attachment you should always be suspicious. You can check the name, the email address and the mailto address.

If you see anything suspicious please contact the sender to determine if the email is legitimate before opening any attachments.

If you would like to learn more about spoofing you can read the following Wikipedia page or the Malwarebytes website.

This would also be a good time to check your own anti-virus and anti-malware software is up to date.