A craftier e-mail phisher
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 202
Likes: 50
From: UK
A craftier e-mail phisher
This one is more plausible than many. The quality of English is within the current, declining standard.
The e-mail I received contained no links to anywhere but Outlook, as far as I could tell. It got past the spam filter.
Here's a copy, from the Microsoft help forum at Bogus Outlook "account confirmation" email? - Microsoft Community
The forum advice is: it's bogus. My suspicions were aroused by the details requested.
The e-mail I received contained no links to anywhere but Outlook, as far as I could tell. It got past the spam filter.Here's a copy, from the Microsoft help forum at Bogus Outlook "account confirmation" email? - Microsoft Community
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
Dear Customer,
Outlook® accounts have been growing really fast.
We are having too many congested email due to the anonymous registration of Hotmail, Msn, and Live Accounts on our database system. Please reconfirm your email account and information to know if your account is still active and will also be recorded on our new database system.
We need you to reply and fill in the information below within one week or you will lose your account permanently.
*Username
*Password
*Date of birth
*Country or Territory
Here are some ways to help you manage your account after you reconfirm it.
1. Create an archive - Set up a folder on your PC’s hard drive where you can save large attachments. Then just delete them from your inbox. You’ll still have them and your inbox will be that much smaller.
2. Make your filters work for you- Did you know you can set up your Hotmail account to immediately delete junk e-mail? Go to Options, and click Filters and reporting. Under the “Delete junk e-mail” section, select Immediately to delete junk e-mail right away. Once you’re finished, click Save and you’re done.
3. Delete a bunch of mail at once- Go to your Junk and Deleted folders, and clear them out by clicking the “Empty” button in the action bar.
If you have more questions, please read our help topic on Hotmail storage.
Sincerely,
Outlook Team
Dear Customer,
Outlook® accounts have been growing really fast.
We are having too many congested email due to the anonymous registration of Hotmail, Msn, and Live Accounts on our database system. Please reconfirm your email account and information to know if your account is still active and will also be recorded on our new database system.
We need you to reply and fill in the information below within one week or you will lose your account permanently.
*Username
*Password
*Date of birth
*Country or Territory
Here are some ways to help you manage your account after you reconfirm it.
1. Create an archive - Set up a folder on your PC’s hard drive where you can save large attachments. Then just delete them from your inbox. You’ll still have them and your inbox will be that much smaller.
2. Make your filters work for you- Did you know you can set up your Hotmail account to immediately delete junk e-mail? Go to Options, and click Filters and reporting. Under the “Delete junk e-mail” section, select Immediately to delete junk e-mail right away. Once you’re finished, click Save and you’re done.
3. Delete a bunch of mail at once- Go to your Junk and Deleted folders, and clear them out by clicking the “Empty” button in the action bar.
If you have more questions, please read our help topic on Hotmail storage.
Sincerely,
Outlook Team
Last edited by John Marsh; 2nd September 2013 at 10:43.
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,803
Likes: 0
From: Perth - Western Australia
Many scammers simply cut and paste whole sections of legit websites into their scam emails, thus the initial, almost convincing appearance of the wording.
However, you should be aware that very few companies will email you directly, and if they do, they address you by your name.
In addition, no company ever demands important personal details in an email. It's a dead giveaway.
However, you should be aware that very few companies will email you directly, and if they do, they address you by your name.
In addition, no company ever demands important personal details in an email. It's a dead giveaway.
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2,847
Likes: 0
From: Confoederatio Helvetica
I had one today 'from' Amazon, with a link to a page that was identical to Amazon's log-in page. Of course it wasn't really an Amazon page, they just wanted my login and password.
I forwarded it, as an attachment, to [email protected] and was surprised to see that Amazon wasn't interested. Got an immediate reply suggesting That if I wanted to report Spam I should go to a certain page on their website. Of course there was no way to report SPAM on that page or anywhere else on Amazon.
I'm disappointed, they should be much more diligent. I'll keep this in mind when I'm next looking to buy something from them.
I forwarded it, as an attachment, to [email protected] and was surprised to see that Amazon wasn't interested. Got an immediate reply suggesting That if I wanted to report Spam I should go to a certain page on their website. Of course there was no way to report SPAM on that page or anywhere else on Amazon.
I'm disappointed, they should be much more diligent. I'll keep this in mind when I'm next looking to buy something from them.
Last edited by ExXB; 2nd September 2013 at 17:26.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,052
Likes: 0
From: In transit
I got a very authentic looking one from Gumtree over the weekend asking me to authenticate my advert.
The only flaw was that I have never used Gumtree to place an advert and even if I had, it wouldn't have been from that account. And of course the link went to some bizarre website.
The only flaw was that I have never used Gumtree to place an advert and even if I had, it wouldn't have been from that account. And of course the link went to some bizarre website.
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,569
Likes: 1
From: Florida
forwarded it, as an attachment, to [email protected] and was surprised to see that Amazon wasn't interested. Got an immediate reply suggesting That if I wanted to report Spam I should go to a certain page on their website. Of course there was no way to report SPAM on that page or anywhere else on Amazon.
I'm disappointed, they should be much more diligent. I'll keep this in mind when I'm next looking to buy something from them.
I'm disappointed, they should be much more diligent. I'll keep this in mind when I'm next looking to buy something from them.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
From: U.K.
Like everyone else, I get loads of e-mails advising me that there is a problem with my bank account and would I please log in using the link conveniently provided to confirm my account details. Invariably I fiorward the entire e-mail to the appropriate bank's e-mail scams address and hear nothing more. Not the other day however - I received advice that there was a problem with my HSBC account (which I don't have) so I dilligently forwarded same to the appropriate address of the HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Almost by return I received an acknowledgement e-mail thanking me for my trouble and containing loads of the standard advice as to how to avoid getting scammed.
P.P.
P.P.
