New scam uses real-looking airline email to steal personal information

NEW YORK (WABC) -- With the summer travel season heating up, a clever new scam is also starting to catch fire.

It has to do with an email you might think is from a major airline, but it's really a Trojan horse designed to steal your personal information.

At a glance, it looks legitimate -- a professional-looking email from Delta Airlines announcing details of your upcoming flight. Even if you're not traveling, you're curious. So you click on the link.

"If you click on this, it takes you to a site that's loaded with Malware," CyberScout founder Adam Levin said.

CyberScout is an ID and data theft company leading the charge against hackers, thieves and even simple human error, and Levin warns that one simple click could spread malicious software all over your device.

"It's looking for email information, login information, VPN information, banking info, app info," Levin said. "The list is endless."

The scam email looks genuine, but if you look close, there are some warning signs. First, the return email address should read Delta.com, but it actually reads "DeltaA," and that's a dead give away.

Next, the real email shows your flight info in the body of the letter, meaning you won't have to click to see it.

Also, always scan for spelling or punctuation errors. In this email, there was a subtle typo with an extra space before a comma.

The big takeaway is to never click on an emailed link unless you're absolutely sure it's legit.

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