The Office of Information Security observes a trend in which criminals send fraudulent invoices, hoping that victims will click a malicious link, open the attachment, or call the given number.
If you see a message like the one below, please do not interact with the sender, phone number, or attachment. Do not follow any special instructions. Simply report the email using the Phish Alert Button (PAB).
- Invoices usually address the customer by name. The greeting “Customer” is generic and could apply to anyone.
- The email mentions PayPal, but it uses QuickBooks branding.
- Spelling and grammar errors throughout.
- The sender gives the same phone number for PayPal and the invoicing business. Meanwhile, the phone number in the footer lists a completely different number. The first two numbers likely belong to the scammer who does not want you to call anyone but them. Calling the proper support team would foil the scam.
- The disclaimer cuts off the rest of the warning. It’s supposed to continue with, “or you can forward the email to [email protected] so we can look into it. Read more at security.intuit.com”. It’s good advice, but not advice the scammer wants you to follow.
If you ever receive unexpected invoices, do not panic. It is always best to be cautious and report anything remotely suspicious. Our team will analyze all submissions and return them to you if they are determined to be safe.
Similar Scams
Scam of the Month: Invoice from PayPal LLC