If you’re in Australia, don’t believe an email you receive in your mailbox that claims to be from Dell saying that the Canon digital camera you purchased will be charged to your card.

The email is a fake, and if you click on the link in the email (even if you clicked to dispute the claim) your computer could be infected by a virus or other malicious code.

Dell Australia has acted quickly posting a notice on their website telling users to “Please delete any emails you receive with the subject “Your order #xxxxxxxx has been accepted for the amount 865.00 AUD”, which claims to originate from “order_xxxxxxxx@dell.co.uk” or relates to the purchase of a Canon digital camera”.

As a general rule, if you suspect a bogus email, you should never click any of the links in the email. Instead, first select a phrase of text in the email and do a Google Search for the phrase. If you find lots of matches referencing that email as a hoax, delete it immediately.

More information can be found from Sophos Online