SCAM ALERT

[Tom]

Latest email scam is going strong- I have gotten TWO in the last 24 hours from two different "banks."
Cyber-slimeballs are send out emails that are disguised as statement from your banks stating your account is in danger and you must verify your personal information including password.
DO NOT REPLY - it is not your bank, and no matter how much the logog look real and the links take you to a site that is ral looking, it is not your bank doing it.
NO REPUTABLE BANK WILL EVER ASK YOU FOR INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY HAS.
THis is really low-all they need do is find a relativvely few suckers out there and literally milk them dry.
Beware - anything you see on the internet must be assumed as being a fraud unless you have overwhelming evidence that it is legit.

[howardjim]

On a similar theme,I was foolish enough to use the same password on many sites,including PayPal.I awoke one morning to find $1900. removed from my checking account via an ACH through PayPal.

The spoofer,as they call them,had obtained my password through some unprotected site and since PayPal requires only an e-mail address and password...instant access to a linked checking account.He submitted a stiff invoice and requested the withdrawal through PayPal.

The monies were returned within a week with a valuable lesson in the balance.

[Tom]

Sounds like PayPal is a tad bit irresponsible in the way they handle the transfer of funds.

[howardjim]

The sad truth is PayPal didn't act irresponsibly within the weak system they've created.If you have someone's e-mail address and password it is easy to delete the transfer notifications sent or alter PayPal preferences to not send any.The bank sends nothing regardless.

If you utilize their services it is incumbent upon "you" to keep at least the password unique.

I now verify all online finances each morning...just because I'm paranoid doesen't mean they're not after me.

[kingfin66]

Thanks for the heads up Tom. Thanks for the follow up info Howardjim. I guess I will be changing passwords...mixing it up a little. I will this TODAY.

[Tom]

I guess maybe I should stop using "PASSWORD" as my password, eh?:D

[GameTheory]

Never ever click on a link in a email to go to a login page. Always type in the address yourself. These scam emails go out for PayPal accounts, credit card accounts, even your ebay account. None of these places will ever tell you in a email -- "there is a problem, come login now to fix it" -- they are all scams trying to get your password or credit card data from you. Use different passwords for each place always.

My "favorite" scam, if you can call it that, just because I almost admire its simplicity and the way it preys upon such basic stupidity, is the type that says "New virus alert -- beware" and then the body of the message describes some terrible sounding virus and tells you to look for a particular file in your Windows directory to see if your computer has been infected. It tells you if you find such-as-such a file to delete it immediately. Of course it is really a normal system file that everyone has and not a virus -- the email itself is the virus and YOU are the carrier -- it instructs you to damage your own system and many people do. And these emails also get forwarded on to such people's friends and family so they can all "protect" themselves. Hilarious in a way.

Bottom line: don't do anything an email tells you to do! In fact, if
you don't know what the email is, just erase it without opening it.

[Tom]

GT....
I got an email "alert" from a GM engineer-to all his suppliers - telling us the seek and delete such and such a file.
Of course, it was a needed file.
I heard that literally hundereds of people found and deleted it and went through cyber hell as a result.

[Secretariat]

Be careful. I've been getting Ebay 5.00 coupon discounts with a PayPal tie in. Any one else getting these?

I'm pretty sure they're bogus.

[trying2win]

Whenever I get suspicious e-mail, I just scan them first with a free utility called MAILWASHER. It let's you see what's inside an e-mail without actually opening it. If it looks suspicious, or is just spam from a familiar harmless source I recognize, I just hit the 'BOUNCE' feature which sends the e-mail back to the sender. When the sender receives their e-mail back, I believe it states a line like "The e-mail address you sent this item to could not be found", or something similar.

MAILWASHER is available for free at their website. Here's the link if you're interested:

http://www.mailwasher.net/


T2W

[PaceAdvantage]

Or if you are using Outlook Express, just right click on the message and choose PROPERTIES, then click the DETAILS tab, then hit the MESSAGE SOURCE button.

This will allow you to see the contents of an e-mail without actually opening it.

[Tom]

Neat tip-thanks PA.