There’s a scam artist posing as NorthwesTel customer service.
The email asks for account ID and passwords, claiming that the information is needed to upgrade NorthwesTel e-mail accounts.
The request for such sensitive information raised some red flags for Jenny Hamilton, the general manager at the Guild Hall.
“That was the thing that set me off,” she said. “They shouldn’t need that kind of information. Otherwise it might have looked like them.”
The email seems like it’s coming from customercare@northwestel.net, but when Hamilton dug a little deeper, and looked at the properties off the email, it turned out to be from a Rogers account, pvc001@rogers .com.
So far Hamilton is the only one who has reported an email like this, said Emily Younker, the manager of corporate communications with NorthwesTel.
“I can definitely confirm that it’s not us, it’s a bogus email” said Younker. “NorthwesTel never solicits personal information, passwords or banking information by email or telephone.”
If for any reason they needed that kind of information NorthwesTel wouldn’t ask you to give it out via email, she said.
“The only thing similar would be us contacting you to ask that you contact us, so it would be you initiating the contact,” said Younker.
The telco has posted a notice about the bogus email on their web page, notified all their customer service reps and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Customers that find a suspicious email in their in boxes should not hesitate to call customer service, said Younker.
They should also report it themselves to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, she added.
Contact Josh Kerr at
joshk@yukon-news.com