Protect yourself: Domain Name Commission warns of rising phishing scams
New Zealand's Domain Name Commission (DNC) has sent out warnings to all .nz registrars (companies that work directly with the DNC) to be aware of phishing email campaigns impersonating registrars. The DNC has asked registrars to pass on the warning to .nz domain name holders.
Phishing attacks targeting .nz domain holders #
If you're a .nz domain holder this is noteworthy because the phishing emails are directly targeting you. Phishing attacks will attempt to impersonate your registrar to try and obtain sensitive information from you, like your payment or login details.
Multiple registrars have reported that malicious actors have been sending emails appearing to be from legitimate restigstrars. These emails fraudently request .nz domain name holders to renew their .nz domain name by clicking on a phishing link, and/or paying a fraudulent invoice.
What can I do to protect myself from phishing attacks? #
The warning indicates that phishing attacks are a growing concern for .nz domain holders.
If you have a .nz domain, you should remain vigilant of any unexpected emails regarding your domain.
In New Zealand, contact details for domain holders are publically visible via WHOIS lookups. Unless you’ve applied privacy protection to your domain, scammers can use this to get your contact email for phishing attempts.
Always think twice before clicking links in emails, and check the email address of the sender. If you're still unsure if an email is legitimate or not, contact your registrar for them to confirm whether it's genuine or not.
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