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| June Data Breach Warnings |
Social networking site LinkedIn and online dating service eHarmony warned that some user passwords had been breached after security experts discovered scrambled files with passwords for millions of online accounts. The two companies declined to say how many accounts had been breached when they disclosed the breaches in statements issued earlier this week. They only said they were conducting investigations. | June Data Breach Warnings |
| June Data Breach Warnings |
The music streaming website, Last.fm, has urged users to change their account passwords as a precaution following "the leak of some Last.fm user passwords." Last.fm said the warning “follows recent password leaks on other sites, as well as information posted online” but did not disclose how many accounts are at risk, or any details of how the break in it's security occurred. | June Data Breach Warnings |
The "Payment Processor" type "jobs" that appear in some emails generally fall into three types:
- illegal money laundering - you could get into serious trouble for this even if you didn't know what was going on
- the "offer" is followed up by demands for cash to cover the "set-up administration costs"
- just to get access to your bank and/or paypal account.
A common scam just about every email user gets is the Bank scam. Check this page for more details and this months fakes. This is where you will get an email that looks like it comes from your bank and will require you to login to your account using the link provided in the email. The problem is, although the link will look real, if you look at the translation of the link you will see it actually points to a fake site and not the one belonging to the bank. Never click on a link in these emails, even if you think it may be real, instead go directly to the bank's website. It is not just banks that this scam targets. Any organisation where you have financial dealings could be a target such as Ebay, Paypal, Amazon, Inland Revenue, etc etc. or even social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In some cases, instead of a link the email will have an attachment in .HTML format which is actually the web page you would have gone to if there had been a link. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS ATTACHMENT.
It is also worth noting that NO ORGANISATION ANYWHERE EVER holds random email draws. They are ALL SCAMS. You CANNOT WIN a lottery or prize draw that you HAVE NOT ENTERED.
Although the sender's email address will be fake it can sometimes to used as an indication the email is a scam. A significant proportion of these scam (and spam) emails are sent using email servers used by universities and other educational establishments without their knowledge or permission. These types of places seem to have the lowest security when it comes to allowing outsiders to use their systems. Look at the sender's email address (not the contact email address). Does it end with .EDU ?
Remember, these email addresses/names/phone numbers were given as the contact/reply to addresses for the scams and not the addresses the email supposedly came from. This is because these types of emails are sent from false or non-existent email addresses, often from an unsuspecting innocent user who has had his/her PC taken over by a virus or trojan. The contact names will also usually be false (except where the scammer is really stupid) but may occasionally be a real name at the organisation the email is pretending to be sent from so do not assume the email is true based on the name of the sender.
Recent emails have arrived pretending to be from PAYPAL. Note that genuine Paypal emails will always have your primary email address and your name. The fake email claims that "andrew_old74@comcast.com" (and other names) has been added to your valid email list and you are told to download and run an attachment called "Personal Profile Form - PayPal.htm". The attachment is a .HTM form which will demand all your access details (real Paypal emails will NEVER do this). The content of the fake form will be sent to "http://globaltv.pe/wp-content//themes/global/cache/verificationbun.php". Delete this email DO NOT run the attachment.
Check this page for more details on spotting a scam email.
If you have a comment or suggestion (be sensible and clean please) send it to
Scam emails received during June 2012 (check this page as well)
| Contact address | Contact name/phone | Company/reason |
|---|---|---|
| claimsdept181@hotmail.co.uk | James Kelvinson | Short email variant of an old type. Says my email address has won "£1.200,000 Pounds along side with a Brand New 2012 Honda CR-V" in the "2012 Honda Award Promo". |
| fedexexpressdelivery@postafiok.hu | Fedex | Claims to have a "parcel containing your long awaited beneficiary fund credited in an ATM card" for me but can not deliver it until I pay an undisclosed amount "to get this delivery on a run". |
| friendslikeyou@superposta.com | SISTER ELIZABETH JAMES | Daft email all in upper-case. claims to be from "REVEREND SISTER ELIZABETH JAMES FROM OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH MADRID SPAIN IN EUROPE". Says I have been left $1.5million by "LATE REV.FATHER MICHAEL MOBLEY" to my e-mail address that was supposedly chosen to receive the money with "THE HELP OF MICROSOFT INTERNATIONAL FIRM". |
| info_cpc01@yahoo.co.jp | Mr Abdur Kadiri | Poorly written email claims that I have been awarded $1.5million as compensation for being scammed. The scammer says my name was found on a list of people who had lost money but nowhere does my name get mentioned in the email. |
| law.contactdesk@gmail.com | Attorney Ahmet Deniz Oymak Tel: +905369443280 |
Usual scam email saying some person has died, in this case "Rosemary Mcpherson", and has left a large sum of money, $14.5million, but no living relatives to give it to. So, the scammer wants me to fraudulently claim to be next-of-kin to get the money which will be split 60/40 in the scammer's favour. Such an action would be clearly illegal so anyone who falls for this kind of scam deserves all they get; which will not be any of the non-existent $14.5million! |
| lpu.confidential@gmail.com | no specific contact name | Claims to offer low rate loans. |
| mr.kamorumustaphag.p.s1@xd.ae | Mr. Kamoru Mustapha | Daft email claims to be on behalf of "Minister of Finance and other private sectors here in Nigeria" so instantly suspect by default. Says "We have series of Bank Drafts and ATM Cards here in our custody and they are sealed and we don't know who and where they belong to we are getting in touch with you to know if you have ever received an email regarding any Bank Draft and ATM Cards". |
| mrlamidosanusi11@omail.hu | Mr Lamido Sanusi | Claims to be from "the Executive Governor Of The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)" so another one instantly suspect by default. Says I have "a part-payment of $10 million" that "has been approved already for Payment" but two men, "Mr. Tim Parker and Mr. Rowland Gulf", came to the bank to claim it saying I sent them. |
| mrluist@aol.com | MRS. ANA PAULA FILIPE Tel: +31-613-593-810 |
Common scam type. All in uppercase. Says my email address has won €1million in a non-existent lottery. |
| mrmartingary@gmail.com | Mr Martin Gary Tel: +27 710 956 314 |
Blank email with all the details in an attached picture file called "PROPOSAL KINDLY READ.jpg" (similar scam also received with email attachment picture called "INVESTMENT REQUEST.png"). Says he has a business proposal for me worth $25million. |
| tiffany.gutshall@yahoo.com | Tiffany Gutshall | "Lady" looking for romance type of scam email. Claims to have seen my picture somewhere on the internet (there are no pictures of me anywhere on the net) but the email was actually sent to multiple email addresses. |
| wumtoffices@pisem.net | Mrs. Linda Makhado Tel/FAX: +27727529100 |
Claims to be from "Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RSA), South Africa". Says they "have agreed to reimburse you with the sum of Two Hundred and fifty thousand United states dollar only (US$250,000) via Western Union Money Transfer" as compensation for being scammed. |
| valery_chason@ml1.net | Valery | Brief “looking for romance” type email. |
You may have noticed that the contact phone numbers most often begin with either +234 or +27 or +44 70. The +234 is the international code for Nigeria and +27 is for South Africa. The +44 code is the international code for United Kingdom BUT the '70' number that follows is a non-location specific personal number. Which means that the actual number is not in a fixed location and may not (actually probably not) be in the United Kingdom at all. These numbers are often used to disguise the actual country the scam originates from. If you do call the +44 70 number than you could well find you are actually calling Nigeria or some other foreign country. You should also note the high charge rate for calling a +44 70 type number.
Despite our best intentions, there's always the chance that we could fall victim to a scam. If you fear your account has been compromised, report the incident to the police and your bank/building society immediately.
Then check your bank and card statements thoroughly.
To help keep yourself safe going forward, make sure you keep your security software up to date, make sure your passwords are difficult to crack and keep changing them regularly.
If you think you have been the victim of a scam, or you suspect a scam, visit: adviceguide.org.uk/scams for help and advice.
