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Thread: Parker: Fraud alert

  1. #1
    Parker
    Guest

    Parker: Fraud alert

    I have had an Earthlink account for many years. Recently I received an official looking e-mail from "Earthlink Account" with the subject line: "Your Account at EarthLink.com is suspended." The body of the message read as follows:


    EarthLink.com - Account suspension alert.

    Dear EarthLink.com member,

    EarthLink.com Account Management regrets to inform you that your EarthLink.com account has been suspended due to credit card verification problems. Your credit card failed to authorize and as a result, your account has been suspended.

    Please take a moment to confirm your account by going to the following address: EarthLink.com/account.cgi

    Trully yours, EarthLink.com account management team.


    Clicking on the link took me to what looked very much like a legitimate Earthlink website, where I was instructed to fill out a form requesting my username, password, credit card number, home phone and address, social security number and other personal info.

    Just to see what would happen, I filled out the form (with totally bogus info, of course). When I clicked on submit, I got a polite message thanking me and informing me that my account had been re-activated, and I was then re-directed to the real Earthlink home page.

    The only clue that I had that this was a fraud is that my ISP is Earthlink.net, not "Earthlink.com." That, and I would hope that the real Earthlink support staff know how to spell "truly."

    Also, I immediately went to the real Earthlink home page, logged in, and checked my accout status, which was, of course, current and in good standing.

    I had heard of a similar scam being perpetrated on AOL subscribers, but this was the first one I had encountered on Earthlink.

    Moral: Never give out personal info online unless you are certain who is on the other end. And be careful out there.


  2. #2
    Magician
    Guest

    Magician: Also PayPal

    I received the email below a couple of months. It looks legit except for the date (September 31?)
    and possibly the request for your ATM PIN (for bank verification? Yeah right). But the button on the form submits the data you enter to another website via a cleverly disguised URL.

    I reported this to PayPal but only got an automated response.


    Dear PayPal Customer

    This e-mail is the notification of recent innovations taken by PayPal to detect inactive customers and non-functioning mailboxes.

    The inactive customers are subject to restriction and removal in the next 3 months.

    Please confirm your email address and credit card information by logging in to your PayPal account using the form below:

    Email Address:
    Password:
    Full Name:
    Credit Card #:
    Exp.Date(mm/yyyy):
    ATM PIN (For Bank Verification) #:

    This notification expires September 31, 2003

    Thanks for using PayPal!

    This PayPal notification was sent to your mailbox. Your PayPal account is set up to receive the PayPal Periodical newsletter and product updates when you create your account. To modify your notification preferences and unsubscribe, go to https://www.paypal.com/PREFS-NOTI and log in to your account. Changes to your preferences may take several days to be reflected in our mailings. Replies to this email will not be processed.

    Copyright? 2002 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.


  3. #3
    wyrstle
    Guest

    wyrstle: Re: Fraud alert

    This type of e-mail is the hot new scam and method to spreading a virus.

    If you have even the slightest doubt about an e-mail you receive simply delete it, something else will usually clue you in that it may have been legitimate to start with, such as your account really IS inactive.

    Another way to check the legitimacy without getting yourself into trouble is to take a look at the "properties" of an e-mail. RIGHT clck while the e-mail is highlighted and then select Properties. Usually you can tell right from the General tab whether it originates from a bogus source, but clicking on the Details will give you all the info about how it got to you.

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