Deceptive New Phishing Scams
Oh, these guys (and probably gals) are getting smarter, sneakier, and way more deceptive. Their skills at creating realistic looking e-mails of, say, a message from a buyer at Ebay or a note from Amazon, are remarkable.
The latest phishing expedition I received depended on my curiosity and maybe a need to do the right thing. It was from a "bethfurball," an Ebay buyer frustrated because the seller hadn't sent the product or responded to numerous messages.
Oh, the poor dear, I thought, she's sending the message to me by mistake. I ought to at least let the person know the e-mail went to the wrong person. Of course I should have immediately wondered how it got to me. But I was still in a helping frame of mind until I spotted the gaff. In one of the design elements of the HTML e-mail was the giveaway misspelling: "Mesage from eBay member." Yep, you're right -- I deleted the message.
Hey, That's a Coincidence!
Phishers also rely on coincidence. For instance, I just bought something from Amazon. About two days after Amazon sent a confirmation e-mail, I received another message, politely explaining that my on file credit card had expired. Coincidentally, it had, and my first impulse was to click on the link. LOL -- no way, especially on the heels of almost getting burned by the eBay message.
Phishing Contests
If phishing trips worry you, it's with good reason. Read how Phishers Pose as IRS Agents and what happened when eBay officials were scammed in Phony E-Mail Tricks eBay.
To help you avoid phishing, take a look at Fight Fraud and Phishing With New Tools.
BTW, I did my due diligence and sent a copy of the e-mail, headers included, to spoof@ebay.com. Sending spoofs to Amazon is more difficult -- you need to do it on their site.
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The subject line of the recent phishing msg I received just simply said, 'Send Us your Bank Details.'
The ISP I'm using allows users to scan through their POP emails on their page (treating it like webmail). The Inbox there shows the sender's address, subject, time and date, plus the name and size of attachment (if any) including the extension. So I always check my mail on the ISP's site first and do necessary deletes there before I actually download the mails that I want.
That saves me some troubles downloading spams and suspicious messages.
I have a simple way of testing for phishing - I enter "Phishers" as my userid and "f*ckoff" as my password. If they take, I know I'm a guest at the local phishing hole.
Steve, do you really think that EBay, Amazon, etal, does anything with those reports of spoofs that you send them with due diligence? If so, I have this oceanfront property in Arizona I'd like to interest you in .....:-)
How many of these types of emails have yiu received?
FROM: Sgt. Joey Jones
Important Message
Dear Sir,
Good day to you
My name is Joey Jones i am an American soldier, i am serving in the military of the 1st Armored Division in Iraq. I am now in Kuwait in the mean time, I and my partner moved funds belonging to Saddam Hussein, the total is (Twenty Five million US dollars) this money is being kept safe in a security company. Click on this link to read about even that took place here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
Basically since we are working for the American government we cannot keep these funds, but we want to transfer and move the funds to you, so that you can keep it for us in your safe account or an offshore account.
We will divide the total funds in three ways, since we are 3 that is involved. This means that you will take 30 percent, I wil! l take 30 percent, and my partner will take 30 percent. 10 percent will be kept aside for expenses. This business is confidential, and it should not be discussed with anyone.
There is no risk involved whatsoever. If you are interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and that will assist us. Can i trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone/fax numbers for quick communication also your contact details.
This business is risk free. Please reply me via this email: sgtjones@rescueteam.com, and sgtjoey@earthlink.net
Respectfully submitted
Sgt. Joey M. Jones
Got a new one 2 times on E-bay since last week. It's a really authentic looking '2nd chance offer' to buy an item that I had a bid, but which I lost to someone else. I was suspicious and followed the URL's (which all looked like genuine E-bay & Paypal websites). Yes my ID was not my real one. They kicked back as invalid (just as they should). The whole thing was reported to e-Bay.
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