Walmart Shoppers Are About To Get Phished

Phishers Target Best Buy

Despite all the sophisticated tools that basement-dwelling hackers have at their disposal, often, the best way of obtaining information you otherwise shouldn’t have is by taking the path of least resistance. As Walmart shoppers are finding out now, that path is as simple as asking consumers to hand it over themselves.

BGR is reporting that Walmart consumers have been receiving a large quantity of phishing emails over the past several days. The messages prompt users to follow links to reset the passwords for their Walmart accounts, which isn’t so unusual in the world of phishing attacks, but what’s unique about this campaign is the level of detail that appears to have gone into it. Not only do the emails show off authentic-looking Walmart branding and logos, but they also originate from a legitimate Walmart.com address.

As consumers flocked to social media with complaints, Walmart went into damage control.

“The hackers are likely using the system to validate emails, confirm whether they have a Walmart account,” a spokesperson told Yahoo. “They are probably preparing for a future phishing attack.”

Dimitri Sirota, CEO Of data security firm BigID, concurred with Walmart’s assessment, telling Yahoo that the hackers are likely using these initial emails to identify which users have Walmart accounts and vice versa — all to make the next wave of emails all the more successful when they come.