— from Stan Matthews —
Washington Courts have received reports that a fraudulent email is being widely distributed around the U.S. with the subject line “Urgent court notice NR#73230” (or another random number) that claims the receiver is scheduled to appear in “the court of Washington.”
The receiver is then instructed to open the attached court notice and read it thoroughly, and is warned about not appearing. The spam has proven to be a “malware” email and will download a computer virus when the attachment is opened.
The administrator of San Juan County District Court administrator was contacted by the owner of a business on Orcas that received one of the fraudulent emails.
A news release issued by Washington Courts states: “This email did not originate with the Administrative Office of the Courts or any Washington courts,” and advises anyone receiving an email that fits the above description to delete the email immediately without opening the attachment.
For useful information and tips, visit the FBI E-Scams and Warnings site.
I have received several of these. One came in today. This time New York.
Without opening the attachment, here is what was said:
Court hearing notice.
As a defendant you have been scheduled
to attend the hearing in the Court of New York.
Hearing date: 28 January 2014
Hearing time: 9:00 a.m.
Hearing subject: illegal use of software.
Prior to the court thoroughly study the plaint note in the attachment to this mail.
Sincerely,
Court agent,
Emily Mason