Fraudsters are sending phishing emails designed to look like credit card offers. The emails often advertise an attractive VISA or Mastercard offer that includes a low interest rate, loyalty rewards or balance transfer options. The emails also include PDF attachments that are designed to look like credit card applications. The hackers are hoping that innocent email recipients will complete the bogus applications then submit the applications to the fraudsters thus disclosing their sensitive data.

The PDF attachments can also contain malicious code embedded in the file that executes when the email recipient opens the file attachment. Do not open file attachments or click on links in unsolicited emails. Do not click on images embedded in phishing emails. Additionally, do not download images included in these suspicious emails. Believe it or not, hackers can embed malicious code and scripts within images.

Remember that legitimate banks do not send unsolicited emails to customers that include PDF credit card applications. A bank would never ask clients to email their sensitive information in this manner. Simply delete these emails right away.