I might as well have offered a piece of coal.
Internet domain giant GoDaddy sent employees an email promising a Christmas bonus – which turned out to be actually a computer security test.
About 500 employees clicked on the December 14 email from the Arizona-based company that offered a $ 650 vacation bonus and asked them to fill out a form with their personal information.
“Happy holidays GoDaddy! 2020 was a record year for GoDaddy, thanks to you! ”Said the message, obtained by the Phoenix KPNX TV station.
“Although we can’t celebrate together during our annual Christmas Party, we want to show our gratitude and share a unique $ 650 Christmas bonus!”
Two days later, employees received an email from the head of security at GoDaddy that said, “You are receiving this email because you failed our recent phishing test,” reported the Copper Courier newspaper.
Many social media users have swept GoDaddy over the embers, calling the test deaf amid the coronavirus pandemic that has left millions of Americans in a financial crisis.
The company said on Thursday that it apologized to people who considered the email “insensitive”, adding that it “takes the security of our platform very seriously”.
“We understand that some employees were upset by the phishing attempt and considered it insensitive, so we apologize,” said a spokesman in a statement.
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