Scammers go phishing with antivirus scam

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Neil McCallum takes his computer protection seriously.

“I keep a pretty close watch on the information I put out there and the information I receive back,” said McCallum.

It’s why he has a Norton Protection Antivirus software for his personal computer.

Over the past few months, McCallum has received emails from an account posing as a representative from Norton asking him to renew his subscription.

“It came from a personal account,” he said. “That was the first thing I noticed.”

McCallum also took note of the amount the email was asking him to pay.

“I know the amount that I pay for my Norton subscription and that was not the amount,” McCallum added.

Based on these red flags and the multiple emails sent to both his personal accounts, McCallum reported it as a scam to the Better Business Bureau website.

“It’s ironic that an antivirus software firm should be the one that’s being utilized for these scams,” he said.

Tiffany Berhardt Schultz, the Regional Director for the Better Business Bureau in Wisconsin, said scammers often assume the identity of well-known brands.

“They love to imposter Amazon and PayPal or brands everyone knows to make it look real,” she said.

Schultz says these emails are phishing for personal information.

“We don’t know what they want right now,” she said. “They could be phishing for your credit card information or maybe remote access to your computer.”

If you get an email like this, do not call the number listed. The BBB says it will connect you to a person who will try to get more personal information out of you.

“It’s important that you go ahead and delete these emails,” she recommends.

According to a statement on Norton’s website, the company is aware of this phishing scam.

Sometimes you may receive mails from scammers claiming that it is from Norton. If you receive suspicious mails that look like it is from us, forward it as an attachment to spam@nortonlifelock.com. You should never provide personal or confidential information to a sender or webpage that you do not know or trust. If you receive an email and want to verify if it is from Norton, check if the sender’s email address is from one of the following domains.

If you use Norton Antivirus Protection for your home or personal computer, here is a list of emails they will use to contact you.

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