Fiona Broome Camilleri’s blood turned cold when she opened an e-mail titled “blood test results”, informing her she had cancer.
The e-mail purports to be from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and comes from results@nice.org.uk. However, it is nothing but malicious and cruel spam.
“I was shocked when I opened the e-mail to be told I had cancer,” Ms Broome Camilleri told Times of Malta. “I have recently had a blood test taken but I knew that it wasn’t sent abroad. It’s a very cruel hoax. What if it was sent to vulnerable people who didn’t realise it was spam? They would have had such a horrible shock. The ‘cancer’ keyword is terrible. “
The official-looking e-mail tells recipients that there is a “suspicion” they have the disease, adding that the complete blood count revealed that their white blood cells count is very low. It goes on to cite figures for white blood cells, haemoglobin and platelets.
“We suggest you print out your complete blood count test results and interpretations in the attachment and visit your family doctor as soon as possible,” the e-mail concludes, referring to a zip attachment.
Several people took to Facebook to denounce the malicious intent behind the e-mail.
“I’m not naive and never fall for these scams but I’ve recently been testing my white blood cells levels,” one woman wrote. “Had I received that, I might have believed it. How cruel.”
It is estimated that thousands have received the hoax e-mail in the UK. It now seems to have reached our shores as well.
Earlier this month, NICE advised those who received it to delete it without opening it and not to click on any links. “This e-mail is likely to cause distress to recipients since it advises that ‘test results’ indicate they may have cancer,” it said in a statement. “This malicious e-mail is not from NICE and we are investigating its origin. We take this matter very seriously and have reported it to the police.”
The signs
How does one recognise a hoax e-mail? IT expert Donald Tabone lists some pointers.
• If the news is real and is that important, the person will likely call you if it’s personal.
• No legitimate organisation will ever ask you for passwords or PINs or other person-al information. No matter how authentic such e-mails might look, ignore them.
• Watch out for spelling mistakes or typos.
• Links in the e-mail might look legitimate but hovering over them with the mouse before you click will reveal a link to a fake website.
• Look out for outdated information. Scammers like to pose as technical or customer support from companies you might recognise.
• Watch out for red-flag phrases such as “verify your account” or “you have won the lottery” or “if you don’t respond within XX hours, your account will be closed”.
• Generic greetings are often e-mails that are mass mailed. Ignore the ones that say “dear member” or “hello friend”. If your bank or credit card company is writing to you, it knows who you are. So do your friends.
• In all cases, use common sense and when in doubt do not entertain or open the e-mail. Instead, delete it.