Looks like phishing message to me - could it be legit?

Mr Badger

Mr Badger

Mr Badger

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A message has been sent to a number of contacts for an organisation for which I run a website. I took it to be some sort of phising attempt, however someone else decided to engage and has sent a serious response.

Has anyone else seen one like this? Does anyone think it actually looks legit? (I've added the XXXXXXXX)


Dear Manager,

(Please forward this to your CEO, because this is urgent. Thanks!)
My name is Anthony Liu, Operating Manager of a Network Service Company which is the domain name registration center in Shanghai, China. On May 10, 2021, we received an application from Beien Holdings Ltd requested “XXXXXXXX” as their internet keyword and China (CN) domain names( XXXXXXXX.cn/ XXXXXXXX.com.cn/ XXXXXXXX.net.cn/ XXXXXXXX.org.cn). But after checking it, we find this name conflict with your company name or trademark. In order to deal with this matter better, it’s necessary to send email to you and confirm whether this company is your distributor or business partner in China?

Kind regards

Anthony Liu
Operating Manager

NETCHINA Headquarters
www[.]netchina[.]org
8008, Tianan Building, No. 1399 Jinqiao Road,
Shanghai 200120, China
Tel: 0086-21-6191-8696
Fax: 0086-21-6191-8697
Mobi: 0086-134-8281-9147
 
Einskis Nokkur said:
Why would anyone consider for even a fraction of a nanosecond that this is anything other than phishing?
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I suppose the timing is actually funny because we had a meeting this week at which I reminded people to be wary of email scams. Clearly the person who has responded didn't take that message onboard.
 
Mr Badger said:
I suppose the timing is actually funny because we had a meeting this week at which I reminded people to be wary of email scams. Clearly the person who has responded didn't take that message onboard.
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Should do what our IT department do and routinely send out phishing emails to catch people out.
 
I can see why people get caught out, my wife is expecting a package from a hospital and got an email yesterday that had 'hospital' in the address. Luckily the misspelled words were a giveaway.



edit: fixed scammer spelling.
 
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Semple said:
Should do what our IT department do and routinely send out phishing emails to catch people out.
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I used to work for Vodafone a few years back and they did, using one of several external domains registered specifically for the testing.

One of the test emails was framed as from the Head of IT asking for the recipient to reply with their username and password for the customer database access software. It was only sent to 250 employees, 176 replied with the requested credentials, with the rest following the correct procedure and informing management.
 
Resident said:
I used to work for Vodafone a few years back and they did, using one of several external domains registered specifically for the testing.

One of the test emails was framed as from the Head of IT asking for the recipient to reply with their username and password for the customer database access software. It was only sent to 250 employees, 176 replied with the requested credentials, with the rest following the correct procedure and informing management.
Click to expand...

And I keep being told I don't have enough I.T experience to even work as a receptionist. I wonder just how many of these people simply lied about having I.T experience.
 
I think another giveaway in the OP's email is the usage of "CEO", which you hear more in US English than you do in UK English. In the UK, the top dog is usually Managing Director or Chief Exec (but not Chief Exec Officer).
 
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