Security News > 2024 > May > Free Piano phish targets American university students, staff
A large-scale phishing campaign is using an unusual lure to earn at least $900,000 by tricking email recipients into believing they're about to receive a baby grand piano for free.
The campaign, discovered by email security firm Proofpoint, was launched in January 2024 and has distributed over 125,000 emails, mainly targeting North American university students and faculty.
The phishing emails sent to targets claim to be from a university professor sharing the news that, due to downsizing, a person named Dereck Adams is offering a 2014 Yamaha Baby grand piano for free to those interested.
The message provides an email to arrange inspection and delivery, and if contacted, the threat actors respond with a message purporting to come from the moving firm, 'American Van Lines Movers Services.
The email also adds an element of urgency, stating that multiple people have shown interest in receiving the piano and advising that the first person to pay for delivery will receive it.
Google now blocks spoofed emails for better phishing protection.