There\u2019s a new type of scam doing the rounds\u2026 and this one\u2019s a little more convincing than most.<\/p>\n
It looks like a genuine alert from Microsoft Azure Monitor.<\/p>\n
It comes from a real Microsoft domain, and it lands in your inbox without being flagged as suspicious.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why it\u2019s catching people out.<\/p>\n
Azure Monitor is a tool businesses use to keep an eye on their systems.<\/p>\n
It tracks performance, spots problems, and sends alerts when something needs attention.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re running cloud services, especially in Microsoft Azure, these kinds of notifications are completely normal.<\/p>\n
So, when an email arrives saying there\u2019s a billing issue, suspicious activity, or a problem with your account, it doesn\u2019t immediately raise alarm bells.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where the problem starts.<\/p>\n
These scam emails are designed to look urgent.<\/p>\n
They might mention unexpected charges, invoices you don\u2019t recognize, or even say your account has been suspended.<\/p>\n
Then they push you to act quickly, usually by calling a phone number to \u201cresolve\u201d the issue.<\/p>\n
The email itself can be genuinely sent through Azure Monitor.<\/p>\n
That means it isn\u2019t spoofed in the usual way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not pretending to be Microsoft. It\u2019s using Microsoft\u2019s own system to deliver the message. And because of that, many email security tools let it through without question.<\/p>\n
Azure Monitor allows users to create alerts based on certain triggers. For example, a new invoice being generated or activity on an account.<\/p>\n
Whoever sets up the alert can also customize the message that gets sent out.<\/p>\n
Attackers are taking advantage of this.<\/p>\n
They create alerts with very basic triggers, write their own warning message (which looks like a billing issue), and then send it out to mailing lists they control.<\/p>\n
The result is a convincing, legitimate-looking email. It\u2019s simple and it works.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen similar tactics before using other trusted platforms like PayPal and Google tools.<\/p>\n
The pattern is the same: Take a service people already trust and use it as the delivery method for the scam.<\/p>\n
If you receive one of these alerts, pause.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the most important step.<\/p>\n
If an email is pushing you to act urgently, especially to call a number or share information, take a moment to verify it properly.<\/p>\n
Go directly to your Azure account through your browser (not via any links in the email) and check for alerts there.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a real issue, it will show up inside your account.<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re not sure, ask your IT support provider to check before you do anything.<\/p>\n
This is a good reminder of how phishing attacks are evolving. It\u2019s no longer badly written emails with obvious spelling mistakes. Some of these messages are polished, well-timed, and delivered through trusted systems.<\/p>\n
Awareness is more important than ever.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not completely confident your team would spot something like this, we can help. Get in touch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a new type of scam doing the rounds\u2026 and this one\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":4382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-richardson-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t