Alert! Phishing that required a little examination.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. And sometimes it's just a company getting their employees' hopes up in a phishing test

Train firm’s ‘worker bonus’ email is actually cybersecurity test

A rail union has hit out at a “cynical and shocking stunt” after a train company emailed staff to promise a bonus to workers who had run trains during the pandemic – only to reveal it was in fact a test of their cybersecurity awareness.

West Midlands Trains emailed about 2,500 employees with a message saying its managing director, Julian Edwards, wanted to thank them for their hard work over the past year under Covid-19. The email said they would get a one-off payment as a thank you after “huge strain was placed upon a large number of our workforce”.

However, those who clicked through on the link to read Edwards’ thank you were instead emailed back with a message telling them it was a company-designed “phishing simulation test” and there was to be no bonus. It warned: “This was a test designed by our IT team to entice you to click the link and used both the promise of thanks and financial reward.”

The leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) union said it was “crass and reprehensible”, especially given that one worker at West Midlands Trains had died from Covid-19 and many others had fallen ill with the virus.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/10/train-firms-worker-bonus-email-is-actually-cyber-security-test

Tossers.