PC Users in the United Kingdom Could Have Fallen Prey to 'Peter Pan Email Phishing Scam'

Computer users in the United Kingdom now face the risk of having their personal online credentials stolen by a new email phishing scam termed 'Peter Pan Virus' that is seemingly undetectable by anti-virus software .

According to a Dailymail UK report, cyber-criminals have been sending emails to people in the United Kingdom, and these emails masquerade as having been sent from a reliable ticketing firm, BH Live.

These emails fraudulently indicate to users that they have carried out a successful ticket purchasing transaction to attend a performance on 23 December, by Peter Pan at the Bournemouth Pavilion.

The email also scares users by stating that a MasterCard having 7006 as its last four digits was made use of to carry out the near £145 transaction.

An attachment is also sent along with these fraudulent emails, and hackers also scare users by stating (in the email) that as many as nine tickets have been purchased by users to attend Peter Pan's performance, and these tickets also appear as .pdf files (but reportedly download .zip files onto host systems).

In reality, these attachments have been found to contain malware, which infects users' systems as soon as they are opened.

These malware programs reportedly steal confidential user credentials such as email usernames and passwords. Also, the Independent report quotes an online security expert who rates the Pater Pan malware scam as one of the 'most sophisticated online phishing scams' to have hit the United Kingdom.

Also, the security expert warns about the possibility of users' social network-related credentials being stolen, and thereby accounts compromised.

BH Live Issues Caution

BH Live has issued an official statement stating that the Peter Pan emails have not originated from the company or its associated partners.

"This week a Peter Pan ticket confirmation email was sent out to businesses and members of the public purporting to come from BH Live Tickets. We can confirm that the emails are not genuine and do not originate from BH Live," states BH Live, in a statement on its official website.

Also, as per investigations carried out by BH Live, the Peter Pan fraudulent emails were found to have its origins overseas, and these emails were also found to have been designed to predominantly attack SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in the United Kingdom.

Combating the Peter Pan Scam

If you are among the people having received the fraudulent emails, it is imperative that you do not open the containing .zip attachment file.

"Emails from BH Live Tickets never contain a .zip files or .exe (executable files)," state folks at BH Live.

If you have booked tickets to any concert, do keep in mind that ticket attachments (sent by BH Live) attached in the .pdf format are reliable, and safe to open. Also, do change and update your account passwords at the earliest.

BH Live has also listed a customer care number to assist those who are infected by the Peter Pan scam, and those who may have doubts in their minds with regard to verifying authenticity of confirmation emails.

BH Live's customer care number is: 0844 576 3000.