Essence of Email Weekly - Microsoft email users hit in phishing attack

Recent phishing attacks that swiped account credentials targeted at least 10,000 Microsoft email users. Attackers pretended to be from mail couriers FedEx and DHL Express.

FedEx phishing emails looked valid and contained a document, together with the document type, ID, and number of pages. When recipients clicked on the document link, they were taken to a file hosted on Quip. Services such as Quip are legitimate, but also free and easy to use, which is why they're convenient for cybercriminals launching phishing attacks.

"The email titles, sender names, and content did enough to mask their true intention and make victims think the emails were really from FedEx and DHL Express respectively. Emails informing us of FedEx scanned documents or missed DHL deliveries are not out of the ordinary; most users will tend to take quick action on these emails instead of studying them in detail for any inconsistencies." said researchers at Armorblox.

In addition to this, it seems that phishing, just like eCommerce, is at an all-time high during the pandemic. Cybercriminals are tapping into new areas like COVID-19 relief funds, vaccine rollouts, and personal protective equipment needs.

Both organizations and individuals need to be cautious of their communications and work on protecting themselves from phishing attacks. There are many tools and training courses that can help – check out this article for more information.



SMS/MMS MARKETING


Remarkety offers new MMS options


Source: Giphy
Remarkety, an eCommerce marketing automation solution, is now offering Multimedia Messaging Services to its customers. This will help them incorporate pictures, GIFs, videos, or audio into their mobile efforts to grab even more attention and capitalize on mobile marketing, which is blooming.

What's more, both Remarkety SMS and MMS services are now available in a pay-as-you-go plan, which is supposed to help brands reap the benefits of eCommerce SMS and MMS without commitment.

MMS innovations aside, Remarkety's SMS program offers valuable solutions for eCommerce brands by streamlining the customer journey across several channels and devices. It allows them to, for example, finish the purchase they started on desktop via any other device. The trick is in syncing session cookies.

So, now's a good time to think about your own multichannel marketing: are you right where your customers need you to be? If you make use of several channels at the same time (website, email, SMS/MMS, retail store, etc.), you're giving more choice and convenience to your customers, making it easier for them to take action. And bear in mind that multichannel customers spend three to four times more than single-channel customers.

Multichannel marketing takes good campaign management and choreography, as well as advanced targeting and analytics, but it certainly pays off.



DATA PROTECTION


Virginia passes a new privacy law


Source: Giphy
Last year, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect in California. Now, Virginia has passed a similar privacy bill. It is expected to be signed into law and enacted in 2023.

Similar to the CCPA, this act will require companies to allow their customers to access, change, or delete their personal data. They will be able to opt out of the use of non-sensitive data for targeted advertising. In addition, companies will need to obtain consumers' consent before they gather and process data, such as information on health, religious beliefs, race, immigration status, or sexual orientation, as well as geolocation info and biometric data. Still, revisions are expected to be made by 2023 before the bill goes into effect.

Big names, such as Microsoft and Amazon, have supported the bill, but the Consumer Federation of America thinks it's too weak and should require companies to obtain consumer consent before using their information.

On the other hand, the digital rights group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, opposes the Virginia bill and is urging people to ask Governor Northam to veto the measure. But the Association of National Advisors does not plan to get in touch with Northam at this time.

We believe this is just the beginning of the fight for consumer data privacy, and the laws will certainly become stricter in time. What is your company doing to ensure your consumers' data protection?



EMAIL DESIGN INSPO


Feedback matters


Source: ReallyGoodEmails
We recently wrote about how important it is to give your audience the freedom of choice. In addition to providing them with the option to choose how often and what kind of content they want to receive from you, you should make sure to take some time and ask for feedback regarding your product.

Not only will this show your customers that you care, but it'll also give you the chance to evolve and improve.

This email by Food52 demonstrates a great way to ask for feedback. In addition to the witty copy, they've included a strong hero image and actionable call-to-action buttons that bring customers to the survey. This email is proof that you don't need to create a plain email that contains just a survey.

The use of two CTA buttons makes it pretty clear, right away, what Food52 wants you to do – being short and direct is key in this type of emails.

How about you? Are you taking the time to hear what your customers have to say?