Is this a scam?

[Boxlicker101]

Has anybody else seen this:

See Post # 7

I'm about 99% sure it's a scam, but there is still that lingering doubt. I know my DOB can be a valuable piece of info to scammers, which is one reason I am looking askance at it.

 

[laceNlthrgrrl]

That's a nasty looking link without even venturing forward. Pass on a potential loss of enlightenment, gold, cash, or infinite wisdom, tyvm.

 

[SamScribble]

Wouldn't touch the link with a bargepole. But I can confirm that my DOB is the 33rd of September 1837. Or is that the 37th of September 1733? It was such a long time ago.

 

[lovecraft68]

Has anybody else seen this:


I'm about 99% sure it's a scam, but there is still that lingering doubt. I know my DOB can be a valuable piece of info to scammers, which is one reason I am looking askance at it.

Hey box, why don;t you remove that. Thing looks like a potential minefield.

 

[fuckwaffle]

Has anybody else seen this:

I'm about 99% sure it's a scam, but there is still that lingering doubt. I know my DOB can be a valuable piece of info to scammers, which is one reason I am looking askance at it.

So, I can only see this if I have a microsoft live login? WTF?

 

[RodenAddison]

Whoa! Link comes up with a log in prompt for hotmail? Never, never, never follow a link that requires you to log into a site. Always go direct.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Okay, but this is what it says:

ACCOUNT@ UPDATED

Dear MSN and Hotmail Subscriber,


Our records indicate that your account hasn't been updated by our customer care account services as part of our regular account maintenance. Reply to our Customer Care with your personal information.Do this by clicking the reply tab.


* User name:

* Password:

* Date of Birth:

* Country Or Territory:


This back up is necessary to update and to avoid blocking of your account. If you do not respond to this message you will lose your account permanently. Thank you for your usual co-operation we apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Member Service Team.

I have gotten this message about four times, including this morning.

 

[THROBBS]

I generally cut an paste the content and google...
And most often you find that a LOT of people have the same question.
And very often it is SPAM or PHISHING or...


http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...fe?msgId=9776b811-b372-498e-883d-2b85db08880f

from that link>
"Thank you for the information that you have provided. This email is not legit. Please be informed that the real Windows Live Support Team will never request password or ask for any other personal information via email or IM.

The email you've received sounds too good to be true but it is surely a phishing email which is designed by hackers to gain access to your account. This is for them to use it for their own purposes. Please do not reply to these kinds of emails for the security purposes of your account.

You might want to check out the links below to learn more information about the issue:



How to recognize if the email I have received is genuine or spam?
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...eived-is/d72a7d1d-b751-4f38-bd0c-cb238e02edd4



How to I report Abuse or Spam in Hotmail?
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-hotmail/703b31d1-0381-4240-90ef-ff3c4ba66fad "

 

[fuckwaffle]

Check the header, the from address...then when in doubt go to your account page directly, do not use a link in an email.

I have gotten several of these for my yahoo mail accounts, I mark them as spam and ignore them. Nothing drastic has happened with my accounts.

 

[RodenAddison]

Waffle. Your avatar reminds me of a Mr. Bean episode.

 

[fuckwaffle]

Waffle. Your avatar reminds me of a Mr. Bean episode.

Never did like him, but thanks, I think.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I was sure it was some kind of scam, although nothing was said about any bank account or credit card. If it's just a matter of having an address to send SPAM to, I don't see why they bother. They've already got that, although they don't know much about me.

 

[Blase]

If they can get into your account they can potentially learn MUCH more about you.

Not to mention sending spam that appears to be from you.

 

[Bramblethorn]

If they can get into your account they can potentially learn MUCH more about you.

Not to mention sending spam that appears to be from you.

One popular scam is to hijack an email/FB account, then pose as the victim and tell their friends that they've had some sort of medical/legal emergency in a Third World country and desperately need them to send money to the scammer's account.

Also, a lot of people use the same password on their email as for everything else, so if you can get that...

 

[oggbashan]

...

Also, a lot of people use the same password on their email as for everything else, so if you can get that...

I have so many different passwords that I can't remember them all. I don't have them stored anywhere on any computer.

All I have is a little black book and I treat that as if it was a cash card with the PIN number written on it. I know where it is at all times. If it's not on my person it's locked away and I have the only key.

It's still true that the most common password is "password".

Security systems don't allow for stupidity.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I was sure it was some kind of scam, although nothing was said about any bank account or credit card. If it's just a matter of having an address to send SPAM to, I don't see why they bother. They've already got that, although they don't know much about me.

It's a matter of having an address to send spam from, sometimes.

 

[Joseph28]

It blows my mind

 

[Darkniciad]

Any time you see a simple, stupid post such as the above from a newbie, start looking for spam.

This one has invisible images in the signature line that are nothing more than spam links. You can't click them, but the attempt is to get google ranking. Many of these will also have amazon referrer spam, so it's always a good idea to check your cookies.

Laurel really needs to change the settings on the forum so that you can't post images until you have 20 or so posts. That would stop most of these spammers in their tracks, cause little to no inconvenience to legitimate users, and the tactic has become the dominant spam technique here over the last couple of months.

 

[estragon]

There are some legitimate referrers who use Amazon, but they disclose upfront what they are doing, and they never use spamming techniques.

 

[Darkniciad]

The legitimate ones will always come from the user's own website, though. That's how its supposed to work, and I think it's actually part of the terms and conditions.

Referrer links in forum posts are almost always spam. Referrer cookies forced by hidden images always are.