Still Another Email Scam

Blanket emails are sent allegedly from a company's Customer Support office. The wording of the first sentence of the email are meant to hook the reader.

We recorded a payment request from "Office Max" to enable the charge of $28.80 on your account.

Here's another similar hook

We recorded a payment request from "Mutual of Omaha" to enable the charge of $7008.18 on your account.

And here's another similar hook

We recorded a payment request from "Belk" to enable the charge of $28.10 on your account.

The wording of the remainder is the same. It tries to get the reader to download a spurious program attached to the email

The payment is pending for the moment.

If you made this transaction or if you just authorize this payment, please ignore or remove this email message. The transaction will be shown on your monthly statement as "Office Max".

If you didn't make this payment and would like to decline it, please download and install the transaction inspector module (attached to this letter).

It goes without saying, not to do so, but to delete the email.

Back to Herb's Page

This is a new one.

I found this email in my inbox:

We recorded a payment request from "Tesla Motors" to enable the charge of $980.72 on your account.

The payment is pending for the moment.

If you made this transaction or if you just authorize this payment, please ignore or remove this email message. The transaction will be shown on your monthly statement as "Tesla Motors".

If you didn't make this payment and would like to decline it, please download and install the transaction inspector module (attached to this letter).

Another SPAM email to look out for

Another SPAM example:

This is a message from the Online Webmaster Center for Communication to all of our Webmail owners/users.

We are currently working on our database e-mail users and we are delecting all old unused E-mail for more space for new users.

To prevent your account not be delected from our database you are advised to confirm your your account by sending the below information to us.

Web page ....................

Username :...........................

Password ............................

Date of Birth: ......................

Country or territory: ...............

Warning! E-mail owners who refuse to submit E-mail account details, within 24hours fromthis date of receipt will loses his/her Webmail account permanetly.

Your urgent response is awaited.

Regards,

WebMaster.

Did I order a computer and not remember doing so?

I received the email below today iforming me that I ordered the Acer TravelMate 4233WLMi notebook computer. This was news to me, and attached to the email was a ZIP file. I wonder what would have happened if I clicked on the attachment?

Dear Customer!

Thank you for ordering at our online store.
Your order: Acer TravelMate 4233WLMi LX, was dispatched at your address.
The tracking number of your postal parcel is indicated in the document attached to this letter.
Please, print out the postal label for receiving the parcel.

Online store.
Notebookreview.com

Email Forgery -- Email Spoofing Technique

No doubt all of us have experienced receiving an email message bearing a genuine sender's address. But in reality the address of the sender turns out to be phony. This is known as Email Spoofing, and Spammers use this technique to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to their requests. The spoofed e-mail you receive may appear to come from a legitimate source, such as your bank, your credit card company, or even your email server from your internet service provider.

The false email would request you to send personal data, such as passwords, credit card numbers, etc, Any such information can be used for a variety of criminal purposes.

A step-by-step "How To" and a video demonstration of the spoofing technique is presented on the SCREENCASTR.COM web site, the Email Spoofing technique is easy to do.

Herb
http://www.herbertholeman.com

Although you may have received this email many times before, it's been out for a few years, the M.O. is is still being practiced by scammers according to Snopes.Com:

The technique is pretty slick since the scammers provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it... This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'.. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in ?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number.. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question.. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.


Herb

They want me to give them my email info and password???

One day I received the email message below in my INBOX from a sender that I didn't recognize:

Dear Webmail User,

This message was sent automatically by a program on Webmail which periodically checks the size of inboxes, where new messages are received.The program is run weekly to ensure no one's inbox grows too large. Ifyour inbox becomes too large, you will be unable to receive new email.Just before this message was sent, you had 18 Megabytes (MB) or more of messages stored in your inbox on your Webmail. To help us re-set your SPACE on our database prior to maintain your INBOX, you must reply to this e-mail and enter your

Current User name ( )

and Password ( )

Webmail Login address ( ) eg webmail.domain.com

You will continue to receive this warning message periodically if your inbox size continues to be between 18 and 20 MB. If your inbox size grows to 20 MB, then a program on Bates Webmail will move your oldest email to afolder in your home directory to ensure that you will continue to be able to receive incoming email. You will be notified by email that this has taken place. If your inbox grows to 25 MB, you will be unable to receive new email as it will be returned to the sender.

After you read a message, it is best to REPLY and SAVE it to another folder.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Help Desk

Needless to say, I didn't comply with the request. WOULD YOU?