Pass it on: If you receive an email like this, don't open it.

Australia’s communications watchdog has warned of a scam involving emails that claim to reveal plans about Islamic State terrorist attacks in Sydney.

The emails falsely purport to be from News Corp Australia website news.com.au and carry the subject line “ISIS attacks in Sydney?”, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said.

ACMA’s manager of internet security programs, Bruce Matthews, said the emails contained a malicious attachment that could allow hackers to access targeted computers.

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“ACMA has received a number of emails reported by members of the public that purport to contain information about ISIS attacks in Sydney or in Australia in 2015,” Mr Matthews said.

The women risking their lives to keep the world safe from terror.

“These emails contain an attachment that, if opened, could potentially download malicious software onto your computing device, enabling that device to be controlled remotely by cyber-criminals.”

He said the source of the emails was not known, but people who receive them should delete them immediately and avoid opening any attachments.

The emails, which have emerged after last month’s cafe siege in Sydney and last week’s terror attacks in Paris, carry attachments that look similar to Word documents or have .rar at the end of the file name.

“These sorts of emails are very common during topical events,” Mr Matthews said.

Western women are being recruited to join militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

“Typically they’re involved with cyber-criminals.

“They’re seeking to install the malicious software so they can use the infected computing devices for various criminal purposes.”

This post originally appeared on ABC and was republished here with full permission.