We have recently become aware of a phishing scam in which criminals are impersonating Andrew Taylor and Measured Designs and contacting existing clients with fraudulent website renewal requests.
We are publishing this warning so that our clients and anyone who receives a similar message can recognise the scam and avoid being caught by it.
What does the scam email look like?
The fraudulent email appears to come from Andrew Taylor, Founder & Owner of Measured Designs and uses genuine Measured Designs branding and contact information.
The message claims that the recipient’s:
- domain name;
- WordPress plugins and extensions; and
- website maintenance services
are approaching their renewal date.
It then creates a sense of urgency by giving the recipient a short deadline and asks whether they would like the supposed renewals to be carried out.
The email looks convincing because the scammer has copied genuine Measured Designs information, including our company name, logo, photograph, telephone number, address, website and email signature.
An example of the fraudulent email
The email appears professional at first glance, but there is a crucial warning sign: the sender’s email address is not a Measured Designs address.
Check the sender’s actual email address
The fraudulent email was not sent from Measured Designs.
Instead, the sender created a Gmail address designed to look similar to our business email identity:
This is not a Measured Designs email address.
Genuine Measured Designs correspondence comes from an @measureddesigns.com email address.
We use several different email addresses for different purposes, including sales and individual correspondence, so the important point is not to look for one particular address. The domain after the @ should be measureddesigns.com.
Genuine:
Fraudulent:
These are completely different email addresses. The second address is a Gmail account and has no connection with Measured Designs.
Don’t rely on the sender’s name
This is particularly important because email sender names can be changed very easily.
A scammer can make an email appear as:
Andrew Taylor
even though the actual email address belongs to somebody completely different.
Always check the full email address, rather than relying on the name displayed alongside it.
Was the Measured Designs email account hacked?
Based on our investigation of the original email headers, there is currently no evidence that the Measured Designs email account was compromised.
The fraudulent message was sent through Google’s Gmail infrastructure from a separate Gmail account.
The message headers identify the sender as the fraudulent Gmail address rather than an @measureddesigns.com address.
This is an example of email impersonation, rather than evidence that somebody has gained access to our email account.
How did the scammer make the email look genuine?
The scammer appears to have copied information that is publicly available about Measured Designs.
The fraudulent message reproduced elements of our normal email signature, including:
- Andrew Taylor’s name;
- Measured Designs branding;
- company logo;
- photograph;
- telephone number;
- business address;
- website address; and
- a genuine Measured Designs email address.
The email also used Mailtrack/Mailsuite tracking technology.
This demonstrates why a professional-looking email is not necessarily a genuine email.
Why does the email create urgency?
One of the strongest warning signs is the use of a short deadline.
The fraudulent message stated that website renewals needed to be completed by a specific date and warned of potential:
- website downtime;
- security risks; and
- compatibility problems.
This type of language is designed to encourage the recipient to act quickly rather than stop and verify the request.
There was also an inconsistency in the scam email: the subject referred to an 18 August deadline, while the body referred to 16 August.
Small inconsistencies like this can be a useful warning sign when examining suspicious messages.
What should you do if you receive an email like this?
If you receive an unexpected email claiming to be from Measured Designs, particularly one relating to payments, renewals, passwords, hosting or website access, we recommend the following.
1. Don’t click any links
Don’t click links, download attachments or enter passwords or payment details until you have established that the email is genuine.
If an email seems suspicious, contact us using contact details you already have rather than following links contained within the message.
2. Check the complete sender address
Don’t rely on the name displayed next to the email.
Check the actual email address.
Genuine Measured Designs correspondence will come from an @measureddesigns.com address.
Be particularly suspicious of addresses using:
- Gmail;
- Outlook;
- Yahoo;
- Hotmail; or
- another unrelated domain
while claiming to represent Measured Designs.
3. Don’t make a payment based solely on an email
If you receive a request for a website renewal or payment that you weren’t expecting, contact us directly before making any payment.
This is particularly important where the message creates urgency or asks you to pay a new supplier, account or bank account.
4. Contact us directly if you’re unsure
If you receive something that appears to come from Measured Designs but doesn’t look quite right, please contact us directly.
We would much rather confirm that an email is genuine than have a client fall victim to a phishing scam.
How to report the scam
If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from Measured Designs, you can report it to the relevant email provider and the appropriate UK authorities.
For Gmail users, Google provides a Report phishing option from the email’s menu.
You can also forward suspicious emails to the UK’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service at:
If you have lost money or provided sensitive information as a result of a scam, you should also report it through the UK’s fraud reporting service.
What are Measured Designs doing?
We have reported the fraudulent Gmail account and the associated abuse to the relevant service providers.
We are also reviewing our own email security and domain configuration to ensure that our legitimate email infrastructure is appropriately protected against unauthorised use.
Businesses can take additional technical measures to reduce the risk of criminals spoofing their domain, including correctly configured SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
However, these technologies cannot prevent somebody from creating a completely separate Gmail account with a similar name.
That’s why checking the actual sender address remains important.
A final reminder to our clients
If you receive an email claiming to be from Measured Designs that asks you to:
- renew your domain;
- pay for WordPress plugins;
- purchase hosting or security services;
- provide website login details;
- change payment details; or
- make an urgent payment,
please stop and verify the request with us directly.
Don’t rely on the sender name, company logo or email signature. Check the actual email address.
Remember:
Genuine Measured Designs emails come from an @measureddesigns.com address.
If you’re unsure about an email, contact us using a telephone number or email address you already have on record.
We are aware of the current impersonation campaign and are taking appropriate action. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from us, please let us know so that we can investigate it and help protect other clients.
Measured Designs
Website: measureddesigns.com
Email: @measureddesigns.com
