Saturday 15 February 2014

Scams - they get cleverer and cleverer

I guess it's to be expected.

Crooks love being really clever crooks - they remove themselves from the pain they cause and instead feel good about themselves because they manage to hoodwink others into parting with their goods (goods of all kinds)

I'm very careful in responding to requests for information and have made it a general rule not to respond to requests from sources I don't know.

Sometimes I get pretty close to falling for a scam.

It would be sad if I got frightened into not accepting any email request but I'm always wary. In a way it's a battle of wits!

Here's one that nearly got me because I've been having trouble with one of my email addresses - the one I occasionaly use on Yahoo. I thought I might also have trouble with my Apple ID even though I don't even know what this is!

Here's the email and then how I spotted it being a scam:


Dear AppleID,

 The following information for your AppleID was updated on 14/02/2014:

Shipping and/or billing address


We detect unauthorized login attempts to your AppleID from other IP address Location. Please confirm your identity today, otherwise your account will be disabled because of our concern for the safety and integrity of the AppleID community.

To review and update your security settings, sign in to Click here


This is an automated message. Please do not reply to this email. If you need additional help, please visit Apple Support.

Thanks,
Apple Customer Support

  Solution - when I put my mouse over the "here" above I saw www.bullseyephotos.co.nz/msn/

To which I thought  - "yes you nearly got me that time" but as ever I used the mouse over technique which indicates where in fact I'm about to be sent.

This time I've put a link to my other web site as I'm gradually making this more and more interesting- I hope.


4 comments:

Baron Vordenburg said...

Geoff,
No bank would send you an email inviting you to log in from an embedded link.
Banks do send out emails that are legit,however never click on an embedded link,if you feel the email in genuine go direct to the banks website.
Some people running 419's even set up dummy websites,with a typo of the real name,a missing letter or an extra letter,the brain does not process all the letters.
People running such scams are scum,ripping off the little guy.
As for an Apple ID awful things,you do not want one.

Geoff Dellow said...

Thanks your highness.

Apologies but I'm not sure how one should correctly address a Baron- Perhaps you will advise.

Chris said...

Good Question,maybe we need to call somebody at Burke's Peerage.
Your Lordship,Your Highness,but for some reason Your Baroness does not sound right.
I will just be plain old Chris for a while.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
If you feel like a chuckle look up the name Victor Lustig,that guy had class not trying to rip off the little guy.
Take Care Geoff.

Geoff Dellow said...

Chris, You've got a facinating way of thinking.

Yes I've just had a lovely time reading about this clever and unusual - crook - not trying to rip off the little guy but going for the big one. Actually selling off the Eiffle Tower for considerable cash in such a way that the guy he had conned didn't want to reprort the crime. Unersatyaning Con Artists will help us be less likely to be duped in the future.