A new scam email titled “HardyNet Billing Issue” is circulating that claims Hardy Telecommunications customers have a billing issue and must update their profiles or risk their account being closed. This email is fake and not from Hardy Telecommunications. Although the scam email is better designed than most, there are still clues that indicate that it’s a scam.
The scam email tells customers that they are required to review and update their Hardy profile to protect it from closure due to previous payment chargebacks. It then contains a link labeled “Log in and update here.” It then encourages customers to review their bill to ensure everything is accurate to avoid potential service interruptions.
The email does not have commonly recognized typographical errors, and it does appear to come from HardyNet, so it’s a better designed scam than most. The return address is labeled HardyNet and even points to a hardynet email address, although that particular address is fake. Still, the typical user would not necessarily know that.
The biggest giveaway is the link. In general, any unexpected email that asks you to act urgently and has a link included is likely a scam and at the least deserves careful inspection. In this case, hovering your computer cursor over the link (but not clicking it) shows you that the link goes to a location that has no connection to Hardy Telecommunications. On a phone, you can press AND HOLD the link to see where it directs, but be sure not to go to the destination itself. The key thing is never to click a link in an email that urges quick action without verifying where that link leads.
If you ever receive an email purporting to be from Hardy Telecommunications and you’re not sure about it, call our offices at 304-897-9911 or 304-530-5000. Never click anything without verifying its authenticity first.