Scam Email Warning

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #1 10-10-2012, 09:11 PM

I received one of these emails this evening. It's a particularly nasty piece of Malware. Don't click on any of the links on the email. http://www.northeastern.edu/securenu/?p=1587

brian nordstrom (As avatar) · #2 10-10-2012, 09:12 PM

Thanks Nettie .
Brian.

mozzie (Peter) · #3 11-10-2012, 06:03 AM

buggers!!!!!! thanks jjj

Larryp (Laurie) · #4 11-10-2012, 06:43 AM

Thanks JJJ. Scams everywhere now-I keep getting the Woolworths customer survey email about twice a week, I get phonecalls supposedly from Microsoft telling me my computer has a virus, and I sold a car last week and someone tried to pull the Paypal scam on me.

ZeroID (Brent) · #5 11-10-2012, 08:38 AM

I got a good old fashioned letter in the mail informing me I had won 1,650,550 Euros in the EuroMilliones Lottery !! Sent from Portugal no less and based in Espana. It was so ancient it didn't even ask for my email address, just a fax number !!
Who the heck has got a FAX these days ??

I'll never get my money now ...!!

BTW: that Fake Microsoft scam should be pretty dead now. The group running that just got hit internationally by the combined law enforcement agencies and had all the servers shut down and the perpetrators arrested.

lacad01 (Adam) · #6 11-10-2012, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroID

BTW: that Fake Microsoft scam should be pretty dead now. The group running that just got hit internationally by the combined law enforcement agencies and had all the servers shut down and the perpetrators arrested.

Yep heard that on the radio on the weekend however these groups are like weeds, you think you've knocked them on the head with the Roundup but then they pop up somewhere else trying some new scam

mithrandir (Andrew) · #7 11-10-2012, 01:33 PM

I've only had one sub-continental voice ring this week to tell me my computer needs fixing. I think I made a mistake by telling him I was fed up with his scam and hung up. I should have put the handset down by the radio and gone for my walk.

Colin_Fraser · #8 11-10-2012, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithrandir

I've only had one sub-continental voice ring this week to tell me my computer needs fixing. I think I made a mistake by telling him I was fed up with his scam and hung up. I should have put the handset down by the radio and gone for my walk.

Yeah but he was right, it does need fixing

mithrandir (Andrew) · #9 11-10-2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin_Fraser

Yeah but he was right, it does need fixing

Funny Colin. He wasn't offering to fix Linux. Doubt he could even spell it.

Terry B · #10 11-10-2012, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroID

I got a good old fashioned letter in the mail informing me I had won 1,650,550 Euros in the EuroMilliones Lottery !! Sent from Portugal no less and based in Espana. It was so ancient it didn't even ask for my email address, just a fax number !!
Who the heck has got a FAX these days ??

I'll never get my money now ...!!

BTW: that Fake Microsoft scam should be pretty dead now. The group running that just got hit internationally by the combined law enforcement agencies and had all the servers shut down and the perpetrators arrested.

I use fax every day. it's not completely dead. It is used extensively in the health industry as we are all dinosaurs.

Baddad (Marty) · #11 11-10-2012, 04:22 PM

Hi All,

I'm rich! I'm rich! I got an SMS on my iphone saying I've won a major lottery prize.

I'll buy lotsa' new toys.

All I have to do is send them my details, phone number, bank account, address..... Hmmmmm. Why do they want my name? Why my phone number? I thought they must have all that.

Damn.... I'm not rich. no new toys.

There doesn't appear to be much protection against scammers on any kind of media. Phone, email, Paypal. They get a lot of potential victims from forum sites.

I assume moderators would be busy cross checking newbies' details to maintain positive IDs. At least I hope they do.

Thanks jjj for that info.

Cheers

mithrandir (Andrew) · #12 11-10-2012, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baddad

All I have to do is send them my details, phone number, bank account, address..... Hmmmmm. Why do they want my name? Why my phone number? I thought they must have all that.

Damn.... I'm not rich. no new toys.

There doesn't appear to be much protection against scammers on any kind of media. Phone, email, Paypal. They get a lot of potential victims from forum sites.

If in every 100,000 emails or SMS they send one person responds they are deliriously happy. The ones who don't recognise the stupidity of asking for your info when they are saying you've won, plus the spelling and grammar errors, are the most likely to be the ones who will send the details they need to get ripped off.

Barrykgerdes · #13 11-10-2012, 05:55 PM

I got the paypal scam in my email box that paypal does not have. Immediately looks bad.

Receipt for your payment to AU-Adcommerce-EOM@ebay.com $79.3

Beware it is a scam. I have seen it before and it looks like it may be doing the rounds again.

I checked my real paypal and it is not there but it would have been if I had followed the instructions to click on the resolution link and logged in

Barry

multiweb (Marc) · #14 11-10-2012, 07:11 PM

The best way to tell for all these emails is to check the mail header. These days most mail client have this functionality. The headers are a dead give away without even looking at the content. You'll know straight if it's legit or not. Programs such as MailWasher Pro do a good job as a prefilter. You can preview you mailbox online prior to download the messages and the learning filter is very good so after a little while it's just tailored to suit your exact needs.

Larryp (Laurie) · #15 11-10-2012, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

I got the paypal scam in my email box that paypal does not have. Immediately looks bad.

Receipt for your payment to AU-Adcommerce-EOM@ebay.com $79.3

Beware it is a scam. I have seen it before and it looks like it may be doing the rounds again.

I checked my real paypal and it is not there but it would have been if I had followed the instructions to click on the resolution link and logged in

Barry

I advertised a car on an internet site, and received a text message from a prospective buyer, asking if the car was still available. I responded that it was, and received an email saying the buyer was prepared to pay the asking price, but since he was a marine engineer and at sea, he was unable to pick the car up and would organise a shipping agent to do so. He would deposit the money in my Paypal account, and I would shortly receive an email from Paypal confirming this.
Then I received another email saying the car was to be shipped to New Zealand, but the shipping company would only accept payment through Western Union, and he could not do this as he was at sea, so he was depositing payment for the car plus shipping cost($2500.00) in my Paypal account and requested I go to a post office and pay $2500.00 to his shipping agent in England-a private name and address.
Next came an email supposedly from Paypal saying they had this money but would not put it into my account until I provided them with a Money Transfer Control Number to prove I had paid his shipping agent through Western Union.
I checked my Paypal account and there was of course nothing there. So I called them and told them I suspected a scam-which they confirmed and asked me to send them all the information.
One of my patients overheard me telling my assistant about it, and apparently his son fell for the scam and was stung for $6000.00
I should stress here that Paypal and Western Union are honest and reputable businesses and are in no way involved in this scam.

Barrykgerdes · #16 11-10-2012, 08:27 PM

Yes Laurie

I have seen a variation of that one too. I had something for sale and got the chap at sea reply saying he wanted it for a surprise for his father . Carried on for a while til Western Union transfers and payments to shipping agents came into the picture. I told him if he sent me the money I could send the item to his father much cheaper than his "shipping agent". That was the last I heard.

Barry

Terry B · #17 11-10-2012, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larryp

I advertised a car on an internet site, and received a text message from a prospective buyer, asking if the car was still available. I responded that it was, and received an email saying the buyer was prepared to pay the asking price, but since he was a marine engineer and at sea, he was unable to pick the car up and would organise a shipping agent to do so. He would deposit the money in my Paypal account, and I would shortly receive an email from Paypal confirming this.
Then I received another email saying the car was to be shipped to New Zealand, but the shipping company would only accept payment through Western Union, and he could not do this as he was at sea, so he was depositing payment for the car plus shipping cost($2500.00) in my Paypal account and requested I go to a post office and pay $2500.00 to his shipping agent in England-a private name and address.
Next came an email supposedly from Paypal saying they had this money but would not put it into my account until I provided them with a Money Transfer Control Number to prove I had paid his shipping agent through Western Union.
I checked my Paypal account and there was of course nothing there. So I called them and told them I suspected a scam-which they confirmed and asked me to send them all the information.
One of my patients overheard me telling my assistant about it, and apparently his son fell for the scam and was stung for $6000.00
I should stress here that Paypal and Western Union are honest and reputable businesses and are in no way involved in this scam.

You can always play them along like these guys
http://www.419eater.com/

MattT · #18 11-10-2012, 09:17 PM

I remember one from decades ago before the web... someone put an add in the paper along the lines of...Send $10.00 and see what you get! Thousands did just that and all they got was a thank you note! Not so gentlemanly nowadays.
Everything old is new again.

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #19 12-10-2012, 01:09 AM

BTW it was Malwarebytes that picked up that it was infected.

ZeroID (Brent) · #20 12-10-2012, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry B

I use fax every day. it's not completely dead. It is used extensively in the health industry as we are all dinosaurs.

Yeah, I know. I was the 'Faxpert' in Fuji Xerox New Zealand for 35 years (and a reference for other companies and lawyers a few times). Done several courses overseas and able to read a protocol report without the manual. Could even listen to the online 'warble' and tell you what was going wrong.
Most of the products still come with a fax module built in and still get occaisonal use but email and attachments has ripped most of the volume out of it.
Was interesting times, got me into some fascinating places and situations.