Beware of Online E-mail Phishing Scams...

[Bernie]

With Christmas fast approaching and many members using services like Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Citibank... to purchase gifts and services the usual warnings go out about fraud, phishing email, identity theft...

E-mails sent out to scam you out of your username and passwords for online accounts are the most prevalent and seem to be genuine, but are NOT. We've all gotten the following fraudulent e-mail that contains a link to what looks like a trusted site, but is not:

Dear Amazon® member,

It has come to our attention that your Amazon order Information records are out of date.That requires you to update the order Information If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your order records, you will not run into any future problems with Amazon online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account termination. Please update your records in maximum 24 hours.

Once you have updated records, your Amazon session will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

To update your Amazon order Information click on the following link:

http://www...

Best Regards ,
Amazon Security Departament

If you were to fall for this e-mail you would have clicked the embedded link or opened an attachment, which leads to a page asking you to enter your personal info such as username, password, credit card number..., which is now in the hands of crooks.

Whenever you get these e-mails do NOT click on ANY links... or attachments. Just delete and ignore no matter how dire it may be worded. It is simply an attempt to steal your identity or obtain access to your various accounts. If you did click on a link and entered sensitive information then contact that institution(s) immediately to inform them of a breach.

[BrunoRepublic]

My favourite was the e-mail supposedly from eBay warning me that my account had been hacked and suspended.

Of course, I don't *have* an eBay account, nor have I ever. :P

[Bernie]

Originally Posted by Graham_Start

Of course, I don't *have* an eBay account, nor have I ever. :P

Now that I find hard to believe :-?
I figured since you like to find those rare records that eBay would be a natural. Shows you what I know :oops:

[BrunoRepublic]

Originally Posted by Bernie

Now that I find hard to believe :-?
I figured since you like to find those rare records that eBay would be a natural. Shows you what I know :oops:

Quite simply, I'm not fond of the whole concept. First and foremost, I don't like not having a fixed price. Then there's all the other issues: a lot of individuals won't ship outside of the US. Everyone grades differently. And with so many eBay accounts being hijacked, positive feedback doesn't mean anything. At least with online sites like GEMM, I can get a feel for how decent a shop is.

[Videoskooter]

Great Bernie, people can't be alerted enough about these frauds!

But I'm very careful BTW, I don't even do PC-Banking! Most Phishing scams in Europe involved PC-Banking.

I do business with people not with machines :evil:

[paul]

I'm embarrased to say I almost got scammed by one like this. Fortunately my cheapskate side kicked in when the credit card info was asked. I stopped there and after doing a little check on these crooks, I reported these people to aol.

[Mixmachine]

I have gotten phishing attemps from EBAY,PAYPAL,and even my Bank, even though I don't do any online banking either, and suspect it was a lucky hit.

If you right click on the phishing message -> properties-> Detail and then look at the "Return address" usually you can tell if it is a fake, a legitimate biz has a legitamate return addresses not something like Tony@4PC.

[Videoskooter]

For those who don't know what we're talking about, do this test (don't worry it's safe).

http://survey.mailfrontier.com/survey/quiztest.html

And this is also interesting to read, it concerns Pay-Pal:

http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/...hp?AlertID=329

[Bernie]

Here's another example of an e-mail you should just delete:

Dear customers:

Wells Fargo is constantly working to increase security for all Online Banking users. To ensure the integrity of our online payment system, we periodically review accounts.

Your account might be place on restricted status. Restricted accounts continue to receive payments, but they are limited in their ability to send or withdraw funds.

To lift up this restriction, you need to login into your account (with your username or SSN and your password), then you have to complete our verification process. You must confirm your credit card details and your billing information as well. All restricted accounts have their billing information unconfirmed, meaning that you may no longer send money from your account until you have updated your billing information on file.
To initiate the billing update confirmation process, please follow the link bellow and fill in the necessary fields:

https://online.wellsfargo.com/signon?LOB=CONS

Thank you,

Wells Fargo - Online Banking

[Bernie]

Another example of a fraudulent e-mail trying to persuade you to give away your username and password by telling you they have added an e-mail address to your PayPal, eBay... account, which of course is not true. While the links in the e-mail appear to be from PayPal they are not and instead go to a site made to look like PayPal.

Another variation of this scheme is to say your credit card will be charged for a transaction which you didn't initiate. Either way, don't believe the e-mail and most importantly do NOT click on any links or attempt to open or inspect an attachment--just delete it immediately.

Protect yourself against fraudulent websites by opening a new web browser window and MANUALLY typing in the URL every time you log in to your account.

You have added dechukiat@yahoo.com as a new email address for
your PayPal account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance
with your account, please contact PayPal customer service at:

https://www.paypal.com/us/wf/f=ap_email

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team


Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot
be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose
the "Help" link in the header of any page.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD
NEVER give your password to anyone and ONLY log in at
https://www.paypal.com/. Protect yourself against fraudulent websites
by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape)
and typing in the PayPal URL every time you log in to your account.

-----------------------------------------------------------------


PayPal Email ID PP345600

[Videoskooter]

And another fine example for HSBC bank:

http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/...hp?AlertID=363

And if you recieve a mail apparantley send by the FBI, be careful too:

http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/...hp?AlertID=362

[Bernie]

A slew of fake Amazon e-mails have been making the rounds the last week. Here's an example:

From: no-replay@amazon.com
Subject: Amazon.com Inquiry
Date: January 23, 2006 2:31:09 PM EST
To: yourname@yourisp.com

At the last reviewing at your amazon account we discovered that your information is inaccurate. We apologize for this but because most frauds are possible because we don't have enough information about our clients, we require this verification. Please login and reenter your personal information.

Please follow this link to update your personal information:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/sign-in.html

(To complete the verification process you must fill in all the required fields)

Please note: If you don't update your information within next 48 hours , we will be forced to suspend your account untill you have the time to contact us by phone.

We apreciate your support and understanding, as we work together to keep amazon market a safe place to trade. Thank you for your attention on this serious matter and we apologize.

This message was generated automatically, please do not reply to it. Amazon treats your personal information with the utmost care, and our Privacy Policy is designed to protect you and your information.

[Videoskooter]

And here's a new spoof that's spreading fast:

http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/...hp?AlertID=452

[Energyguy]

Originally Posted by Graham_Start

My favourite was the e-mail supposedly from eBay warning me that my account had been hacked and suspended.

Of course, I don't *have* an eBay account, nor have I ever. :P

I get those e-mails from e-bay all the time... strange as I have never had an account with e-bay (I use the safe option - i buy/bid for items through a local market trader who bids on my behalf). I aslo get e-mails about "my offshore bank accounts".. LOL