A UK railway company is facing fines for fake emails sent to employees disguised as scams. This is how management planned to test cybersecurity, says the BBC.
According to the paper, West Midlands Trains (WMT) emailed employees that they had been given a “hard work bonus” during the coronavirus pandemic. As soon as workers clicked on the active link to collect their compensation, they received a second email explaining that it was fake.
The company explained that it was testing the credulity of workers against cyber-fraudsters who had become active during the pandemic. The railway workers were offended by this “cynical stunt” by their bosses and took their case to the union.
“The company could have used any other security test. It should apologise and pay a bonus to employees who have made real sacrifices in the last 12 months of the coronavirus. This is the only way WMT can right its wrong,” said Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union Association (TSSA).
West Midlands Trains could be ordered to pay moral damages to 2,500 railway workers.
Volkswagen’s US unit recently came under investigation for its April Fool’s joke of renaming itself a Voltwagen. Despite a public apology from the head of Volkswagen Group of America, Scott Keogh, the company faces a serious fine on suspicion of share price speculation.