Virus warning

Iris · Post by **Iris** » 08-04-2005 11:51 PM

I received an email from Verizon saying my account was suspended. It had an attachment claiming it gave details. I called Verizon and it turns out it wasn't from them. They're getting a lot of calls about it -- it's a virus. So if you get that one, don't open the attachment.

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 08-05-2005 12:39 AM

Good eye Iris.

That's an email phishing scam.

Personally, I don't think you should click on any email attachments, ever.

TABwebmaster · Post by **TABwebmaster** » 08-05-2005 01:45 AM

Agreed, never;)

And don't ever reply to e-mail that you consider spam. You know that little small print at the bottom of SPAM messages where it says Click here to Unsubscribe or send a message to [email protected]. Don't do either...it just verifies that you are there. If you don't reply they usually can't tell whether their message got to you.

If you like SPAM, that's one good way to get more:D

Cpt Spike Mike · Post by **Cpt Spike Mike** » 08-05-2005 01:56 AM

But Dale, how are you gonna get all my kewl pictures & music?

Dale O Sea · Post by **Dale O Sea** » 08-05-2005 02:15 AM

Pictures and mp3s are a little different. From a trusted source they are fine. There's only one way that I know of that pix (jpgs) can carry a virus and you have to have Word and .net installed. I have neither. I don't think they can get anything in mp3s yet either. But give them time, they'll get around to it..

Iris · Post by **Iris** » 08-05-2005 08:28 AM

That was the problem with this one -- like some others -- it *appeared* to be from a trusted source. Those are the tricky ones. For the life of me, I can't figure out what kind of kicks someone would get out of sending something like that. Warped!

palosheights · Post by **palosheights** » 08-05-2005 09:29 AM

they just your want your account information. i've read a few months ago that alot of these phishing scams are from russia, the russian mafia.

andy

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 08-05-2005 10:35 AM

emails like these are another good reason to have AVG on your system! IT checks email for viruses and STOPS them.

DO NOT TRUST even those emails received from "trusted" sources without checking for viruses. WHY - because even trusted sources can be hacked.

When I get email, I do properties check which doesn't open the email - I look for the OK - ie - virus free from AVG.

With many email sources you can deny - set for auto removal or trash delete emails from "name" or "source" or "contain certain words" -- Also you can use spam blocker.

Better safe than sorry.

Iris · Post by **Iris** » 08-06-2005 12:04 AM

Cherry, yes. I have state-of-the-art virus protection on this machine, thanks to my techie son. AVG sounds good, though, if it stops even the possibility that you'll click on the wrong thing.

sayntbrigid · Post by **sayntbrigid** » 08-06-2005 04:26 AM

There was a phishing scam going around like that .......the email apeared to be from pay pal telling people that they had made a purchase.....and when you logged in to check your pay pal account, they got all your info......to log into your pay pal account and see your card number(s)

mudwoman · Post by **mudwoman** » 08-06-2005 04:43 AM

sayntbrigid wrote: There was a phishing scam going around like that .......the email apeared to be from pay pal telling people that they had made a purchase.....and when you logged in to check your pay pal account, they got all your info......to log into your pay pal account and see your card number(s)

I get those a couple of times a month. Never click on them, go to the main web site for PayPal and sign in like you normally do. If they really sent you something, it will be posted on your account page. If it isn't there, report the phish to them. They struggle with this scam all the time, and it helps for them to get reports.

Iris · Post by **Iris** » 08-06-2005 05:23 PM

Good post, Sandy. eBay has had trouble with these scams, too.

TABwebmaster · Post by **TABwebmaster** » 08-09-2005 02:56 AM

Phighting Phraud by Larry Seltzer (PC Magazine, Aug. 23, 2005, pg.72):

If you asked Internet users what scares them most, they'd probably say identity theft. And increasing phishing attacks only make things worse. In the typical scam, an e-mail that purports to come from a bank or other well-known company asks you to click on a link to a legitimate-looking but spurious site to "verify" personal information. Unfortunately, such attacks are not very amenable to technological solutions. There's usually no signature to scan for, and it is often as difficult for programs to identify the site's malicious behavior as it is for people. But several vendors are taking a shot at the problem, in the form of free browser plug-ins.

One of the first is the Netcraft Toolbar (http://toolbar.netcraft.com), now available for both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox....

****
Good news perhaps. I'll be trying this for a while and will report how well it works. I get the Paypal one almost daily at one of my addresses. Read the rest of the article at http://www.pcmag.com or read the current issue.

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 08-15-2005 11:10 AM

There is another virus warning out 8-15-05 - was linked on CNN --

Iris -- AVG updates every day and runs in background for checking your system. It also scans incoming email and will put a note at bottom (no viruses found) - you can check using properties if in doubt....about any email. Its been great and comes highly recommended by the geeks! Besides its free!