Cybercriminals have launched a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting American Express cardholders. The attackers use deceptive emails that convincingly mimic official communications from the financial services giant. These emails attempt to lure individuals into divulging sensitive personal and financial information under the guise of enhancing security measures. Specifically, the emails prompt recipients to engage in a fake “American Express Personal Safe Key” setup process, which is falsely represented as a method to protect against phishing attacks.
According to a recent alert from Avast Threat Labs, the phishing attack initiates with an email that appears to be sent by American Express. The email encourages cardholders to participate in the setup of a Personal Safe Key and includes a link that directs them to a fraudulent webpage. This page, often hosted on platforms like Google Forms, is crafted to collect a wide array of personal information from unsuspecting victims.
Victims who follow the link in the phishing email are taken to a webpage that requests detailed personal and financial information. This includes their social security number, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, email address, and complete American Express card details, such as the security codes and expiration date. The design and language of both the email and the fraudulent webpage are finely tuned to closely mimic legitimate American Express communications, which increases the likelihood of deceiving the recipients.
To combat such deceptive tactics, American Express advises its customers to verify the authenticity of any communication that requests sensitive information. They encourage cardholders to be vigilant and to immediately report any suspicious activities. By staying alert and adhering to these guidelines, American Express cardholders can better protect themselves from falling victim to this and similar phishing scams.
