topic Re: Scam Emails in Community Chat

Scam Emails

handygal2 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:56:25 GMT

As an addition to the scam phone calls thread l started, l'm also getting some egregious emails, all coming in to my "junk" box. The worst of the bunch are those coming from the Republic of Benin, stating that I've won millions of dollars in either a lottery or inheritance, and they are holding the windfall for me. They want me to contact them with a copy of my ID and other personal information. Then, for a "small fee" like $150, they will send me the windfall. I can even choose how l want to get paid!!-- $10,000 a day credited to my bank account, or a Visa gift card for the whole amount!!

Incredibly, "Janet Yellen," "Michelle Obama," and "John Kerry," are all attempting to expedite the receipt of my multimillion dollar windfall!! These emails are so egregious and bizarre, but unfortunately they appeal to some people's greed, and those people get swindled.

l forward all of these emails to the government's internet scam website. (It's the equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry). I hope they're able to catch these criminals.

spam@uce.gov

Have any of you gotten similar emails?

Re: Scam Emails

ROMARY — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:45:03 GMT

I've been getting my security provider on my pc.......'At risk' notice. Problem is when I click 'Fix now', it's never ending. It never seems to fix itself, even after hours on end. Then it says 'Error found' and to 'fix now'. I'm thinking that it's a scam of some sort. Frustrating. Luckily I don't do any business on my computer. Zero. No extra worries there, thank goodness.

Re: Scam Emails

handygal2 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:50:18 GMT

@ROMARY wrote:
I've been getting my security provider on my pc.......'At risk' notice. Problem is when I click 'Fix now', it's never ending. It never seems to fix itself, even after hours on end. Then it says 'Error found' and to 'fix now'. I'm thinking that it's a scam of some sort. Frustrating. Luckily I don't do any business on my computer. Zero. No extra worries there, thank goodness.

@ROMARY: I use an iPad exclusively, so all of these scams automatically come into my Junk box. I forward them to spam@uce.gov, then immediately delete them.

Re: Scam Emails

bri20 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:56:14 GMT

Whatever goes into my Junk folder, gets deleted. I never even open them.

Re: Scam Emails

cookinfreak — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 13:33:06 GMT

I haven't gotten the email, but I did get a phone call that asked for all my info. didn't give it to them of course, but they said they needed that to forward my $$ and after I had paid the fee. I told them to go ahead and take the out of my winnings and send my winnings in a money order.

cookin

Re: Scam Emails

Montana — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:03:02 GMT

I get all sorts of scam emails on my iPad. Some in foreign languages. For a long time I got German messages from from some sort of automobile business. I also occasionally get emails from Russia.

I never open any suspicious emails or click on links in any

emails.

Re: Scam Emails

jaxs mom — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:09:23 GMT

My husband and I were talking about this, he says he laughs at the poor spelling and grammar. I've only reported ones that were clearly phishing emails meant to look like they came from an actual company and attempting to hack peoples accounts by getting you to click a link. One company I have an account with has a specific email address to forward them to. These always show up in my inbox though, I rarely check my junk folder. I just let them auto delete on their own.

Re: Scam Emails

chickenbutt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:16:02 GMT

Why are people OPENING these emails?

Please don't even open them. That, in and of itself, can mess up your computer or cause you to lose privacy.

A lot of it isn't even about getting people to respond. It's getting people to open them so that they can unleash their malware, spyware, whatever.

Since I changed to a new ISP I haven't gotten any spam (fingers crossed), so I hope that continues. ATT was the worst so I'm glad to be out of there.

Re: Scam Emails

Spurt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:20:15 GMT

@handygal2 wrote:
As an addition to the scam phone calls thread l started, l'm also getting some egregious emails, all coming in to my "junk" box. The worst of the bunch are those coming from the Republic of Benin, stating that I've won millions of dollars in either a lottery or inheritance, and they are holding the windfall for me. They want me to contact them with a copy of my ID and other personal information. Then, for a "small fee" like $150, they will send me the windfall. I can even choose how l want to get paid!!-- $10,000 a day credited to my bank account, or a Visa gift card for the whole amount!!

Incredibly, "Janet Yellen," "Michelle Obama," and "John Kerry," are all attempting to expedite the receipt of my multimillion dollar windfall!! These emails are so egregious and bizarre, but unfortunately they appeal to some people's greed, and those people get swindled.

l forward all of these emails to the government's internet scam website. (It's the equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry). I hope they're able to catch these criminals.

spam@uce.gov

Have any of you gotten similar emails?

@handygal2 Must be "the season" I got one claiming to be from a pastor of a church saying he got a western union moneygram for me by mistake and he would send it to me if I would send the fee $150 and my personal info to him---yeh right

Re: Scam Emails

Spurt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:41:48 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Why are people OPENING these emails?

Please don't even open them. That, in and of itself, can mess up your computer or cause you to lose privacy.

A lot of it isn't even about getting people to respond. It's getting people to open them so that they can unleash their malware, spyware, whatever.

Since I changed to a new ISP I haven't gotten any spam (fingers crossed), so I hope that continues. ATT was the worst so I'm glad to be out of there.

@chickenbutt@ These are what is called "phising emails" which don't go to your spam tab because they accurately mimic your REAL bank/credit card company's email or website and therefore, go to your inbox and you think it's legity and open it....But I called my Bank using the phone number ON THE BACK OF MY CARD and didn't open it, their "security team" informed me okay to open and forward to their @abuse.com email so they could investigage it and take action and told me NEVER EVER open any of their links--- if in doubt go directly to CC website if I had any doubts or questions---and never use "reply" to a suspcious email

If I do open them. to make sure there is no virus/adware/malware on my PC, I run extra scans using 2 different security softwre devices to check for virus/adware/malware

Re: Scam Emails

Spurt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:34:58 GMT

@ROMARY wrote:
I've been getting my security provider on my pc.......'At risk' notice. Problem is when I click 'Fix now', it's never ending. It never seems to fix itself, even after hours on end. Then it says 'Error found' and to 'fix now'. I'm thinking that it's a scam of some sort. Frustrating. Luckily I don't do any business on my computer. Zero. No extra worries there, thank goodness.

@ROMARY I would run an adware/malware scan on your PC to make sure you don't have a virus....

Re: Scam Emails

jaxs mom — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:39:02 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Why are people OPENING these emails?

Please don't even open them. That, in and of itself, can mess up your computer or cause you to lose privacy.

A lot of it isn't even about getting people to respond. It's getting people to open them so that they can unleash their malware, spyware, whatever.

Since I changed to a new ISP I haven't gotten any spam (fingers crossed), so I hope that continues. ATT was the worst so I'm glad to be out of there.

None of my email is on my computer, it's all web based. Nothing can download to my computer without me entering a password.

Re: Scam Emails

handygal2 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:23:24 GMT

@Spurt wrote:
@handygal2 wrote:
As an addition to the scam phone calls thread l started, l'm also getting some egregious emails, all coming in to my "junk" box. The worst of the bunch are those coming from the Republic of Benin, stating that I've won millions of dollars in either a lottery or inheritance, and they are holding the windfall for me. They want me to contact them with a copy of my ID and other personal information. Then, for a "small fee" like $150, they will send me the windfall. I can even choose how l want to get paid!!-- $10,000 a day credited to my bank account, or a Visa gift card for the whole amount!!

Incredibly, "Janet Yellen," "Michelle Obama," and "John Kerry," are all attempting to expedite the receipt of my multimillion dollar windfall!! These emails are so egregious and bizarre, but unfortunately they appeal to some people's greed, and those people get swindled.

l forward all of these emails to the government's internet scam website. (It's the equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry). I hope they're able to catch these criminals.

spam@uce.gov

Have any of you gotten similar emails?

@handygal2 Must be "the season" I got one claiming to be from a pastor of a church saying he got a western union moneygram for me by mistake and he would send it to me if I would send the fee $150 and my personal info to him---yeh right

@Spurt: I got that one too. We're supposed to trust someone b/c he says he's a "pastor." Lol.

Re: Scam Emails

Spurt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:30:08 GMT

@handygal2 wrote:
@Spurt wrote:
@handygal2 wrote:
As an addition to the scam phone calls thread l started, l'm also getting some egregious emails, all coming in to my "junk" box. The worst of the bunch are those coming from the Republic of Benin, stating that I've won millions of dollars in either a lottery or inheritance, and they are holding the windfall for me. They want me to contact them with a copy of my ID and other personal information. Then, for a "small fee" like $150, they will send me the windfall. I can even choose how l want to get paid!!-- $10,000 a day credited to my bank account, or a Visa gift card for the whole amount!!

Incredibly, "Janet Yellen," "Michelle Obama," and "John Kerry," are all attempting to expedite the receipt of my multimillion dollar windfall!! These emails are so egregious and bizarre, but unfortunately they appeal to some people's greed, and those people get swindled.

l forward all of these emails to the government's internet scam website. (It's the equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry). I hope they're able to catch these criminals.

spam@uce.gov

Have any of you gotten similar emails?

@handygal2 Must be "the season" I got one claiming to be from a pastor of a church saying he got a western union moneygram for me by mistake and he would send it to me if I would send the fee $150 and my personal info to him---yeh right
@Spurt: I got that one too. We're supposed to trust someone b/c he says he's a "pastor." Lol.

@handygal2 LOL!!! I wouldn't have opened the email at all, but the email address the guy used was similiar to a couple I know (a common name) and I thought they were sending me a message and giving me their new email address ....

BTW handy---think of all the flashpads, twixter trax, poo-pourri, vacuums, PCs, and logo locks you could buy with all that money----LOL!!!

Re: Scam Emails

MyGirlsMom — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:30:14 GMT

I wouldn't know if I received one of these emails because I never open spam, they get 'trashed' right away. I probably have 'thrown away' something legitimate but I won't take the risk.

I'm also receiving a lot of 'survey calls', I won't pick those up either.

Re: Scam Emails

handygal2 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:34:22 GMT

@Spurt wrote:
@handygal2 wrote:
@Spurt wrote:
@handygal2 wrote:
As an addition to the scam phone calls thread l started, l'm also getting some egregious emails, all coming in to my "junk" box. The worst of the bunch are those coming from the Republic of Benin, stating that I've won millions of dollars in either a lottery or inheritance, and they are holding the windfall for me. They want me to contact them with a copy of my ID and other personal information. Then, for a "small fee" like $150, they will send me the windfall. I can even choose how l want to get paid!!-- $10,000 a day credited to my bank account, or a Visa gift card for the whole amount!!

Incredibly, "Janet Yellen," "Michelle Obama," and "John Kerry," are all attempting to expedite the receipt of my multimillion dollar windfall!! These emails are so egregious and bizarre, but unfortunately they appeal to some people's greed, and those people get swindled.

l forward all of these emails to the government's internet scam website. (It's the equivalent of the Do Not Call Registry). I hope they're able to catch these criminals.

spam@uce.gov

Have any of you gotten similar emails?

@handygal2 Must be "the season" I got one claiming to be from a pastor of a church saying he got a western union moneygram for me by mistake and he would send it to me if I would send the fee $150 and my personal info to him---yeh right
@Spurt: I got that one too. We're supposed to trust someone b/c he says he's a "pastor." Lol.
@handygal2 LOL!!! I wouldn't have opened the email at all, but the email address the guy used was similiar to a couple I know (a common name) and I thought they were sending me a message and giving me their new email address ....

BTW handy---think of all the flashpads, twixter trax, poo-pourri, vacuums, PCs, and logo locks you could buy with all that money----LOL!!!

@Spurt: OMG!! That's mind-boggling!!

Re: Scam Emails

dooBdoo — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 17:35:28 GMT

Email hoaxes, phishing, spoofing, and scams are a big problem. Understandably, there's some confusion about this topic.

The device we use doesn't determine how the mail is filtered into the "junk" folder. "Good" mail and "junk" mail is sorted by your settings in your chosen email provider software (examples: Gmail, Hotmail/Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) Also, the email provider does some of the sorting for us, based on their software which tries to detect suspicious mail. So, using an iPad (for example) doesn't affect how junk mail is filtered.

The email service provider (ESP) isn't necessarily the same as the ISP (Internet Service Provider). The ISP is the company which supplies access to the internet. Comcast, AT&T, Time-Warner, Charter, Verizon, etc., are ISPs. Your ISP might also offer service as an email provider, but you do have the choice to use others. My ISP is Comcast/Xfinity, but I don't use their email service.

It's not a good idea to open any email message which looks suspicious. The simple act of opening the message, especially if you allow the external images to display, has the potential to transmit an immediate notification to the sender that you just read their message. As a result, the sender knows they "hit" an active email address and more spam will follow. Also, as mentioned earlier, sometimes the simple act of opening a message (web-based or not) can generate an automatic download of bad things to your device.

If you do choose to forward unwanted mail to the various agencies for investigation, or to the business in the case of "spoofing" and "phishing" (the messages which look identical to a company, such as a bank, or PayPal, etc.), it will not be useful to them unless you include the full header data. If they can't see all the routing info, and all code involved, they can't make use of the forwarded message.

hth!

Re: Scam Emails

butterfly123 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:10:27 GMT

Great information @dooBdoo

Thank you.

I have been receiving surveys from companies about shopping preferences.

I don't complete the surveys since these companies collect information every time you use a computer, tablet or whatever.

Spam is not opened but rather goes to the trash icon right away.

Re: Scam Emails

dooBdoo — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:16:41 GMT

@butterfly123 wrote:
Great information @dooBdoo
Thank you.

I have been receiving surveys from companies about shopping preferences.
I don't complete the surveys since these companies collect information every time you use a computer, tablet or whatever.
Spam is not opened but rather goes to the trash icon right away.

Thanks, @butterfly123! I'm not much of a survey-taker, either. Some of those turn out to be spam, even though they look official. O/T, but I wanted to mention I've missed your lovely threads and thoughtful posts and I'm glad to see you here!

Re: Scam Emails

chickenbutt — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 18:20:48 GMT

Hey dooB!

You know what is kind of funny (in retrospect) - I didn't even know that, when you change ISPs, you can still keep the email addresses you had with the previous one. Used to be that way, so I just assumed it still was.

I worked so hard, prior to having Charter come to my house and switch my landline and internet, moving stuff to the new email addresses (I already had Charter for cable tv, so I found that I could go ahead and set up my email addresses there ahead of time).

The good thing is that I had had it up to here with ATT, so I was glad to move. But I didn't have to be in such a rush, and in fear of losing the old email addresses before I could move everything when I cancelled ATT. D'oh!

I still check the old ones, periodically, for stragglers. But I sure don't miss them!