Another scam

Excuse if you are already familiar with this one, but I decided to mention as it is an example which I have only recently begun to experience.

I get a batch (probably three or four in a bundle, and quite a few bundles) of phoney emails which are ridiculously easy to spot. A recognisable name with modification such as:

~Sainsbury
or
P.A.Y.P.A.L.

And wonder why someone is sending out such recognisable fakes.

Beware if you are getting these, because there is likely to be a following fake that is not so easy to spot.

I think they are relying on recipient quickly deleting the batch of recognisable fakes, and giving the task little attention so that the more subtle fake gets through.

I might have told this before about a scam that was tempting, I saw a piano keyboard for sale, A yamaha p45 , normally priced at £300 plus for a used one and £450 for a new one, This one was £60 for a , still in box and delivered free, To me its obviously ' too good to be true' and curiosity took mw further so i made the inquiry and was led to a Chinese website saying that , they accept Paypal with all the term and conditions of, return so your money is safe, So I went to the next stage and all seemed fine until. they asked for, " send payment to friends and family" . If you do that, your money is NOT protected, so be aware of that,,,

I very rarely get Spam mail but, the odd one that creeps in gets sent immediately to Blocked Senders.

A few months ago I started to get loads of them in my Spam Box, even from people I know and who I have in my Contacts, so I got rid of the rubbish, then changed my password as it appeared that I had somehow been hacked.

Best advice I was given many years ago was, if you don't know the sender, don't open them, especially links, because once you do, they've got your details which are sold on to other hackers, and you have the nightmare of somebody sending down a Trojan or some other nasty little bug into your computer.

Ena
I always forward them to report@phishing.gov.uk before blocking and deleting.

I keep winning things from Currys, Boots, and other big shops I must be lucky or not possibly.

I'm inundated with young women from the Ukraine who want to meet up with me..

Chief Zulu , Omarizing Spear chuka Wants me to bank £10m 's worth of diamonds in my bank, Apparently neighbouring tribes are threatening to rob his mines and so. If I put them in my bank, they'll be save, in exchange he gives me a handsome amount of money which I must not disclose for tax purposes, I'm thinking, hey what harm could that do ?

Mollie said,

"I started to get loads of them ........ even from people I know and who I have in my Contacts"

and also, "Best advice I was given many years ago was, if you don't know the sender, don't open them"

That will happen, when it is not you but the sender whose device is infected with the malware, and it distributes its payload to the contents of THEIR contact list. More difficult, as measures you take will not clean the machines that are posting this stuff to you.

But it gets worse:

'ExploreZip':

A clever virus that spreads through emails.

ExploreZip would not instantly send messages to your entire contact list, but instead spread by waiting to notice when you receive an email.

It then replies with “Hi ! I received your email and I shall send you a reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the attached zipped docs. Bye.” (or similar)

Very sneaky, as not only will this not be seen as originating from an unknown sender but from the person to whom you have yourself just emailed, so receiving their reply is certainly not unexpected.

Like most other worms of this type, it’s best prevented by avoiding suspicious attachments and links. (but are you going to be suspicious, when this seems to be kosher: a reply from the person to whom you have just sent a message.)

Lately..." Our delivery truck has a package for you, but cannot deliver it because your house address is illegible. If you will send us you complete address we will rush your property to you."

Good evening/afternoon whaker. How is your book progressing?

Finished and published, thank you. Half way through a third book.

What was the title? I'll look out for it

Send me your name and your home address via this site, and I’ll be happy to respond.

Whacker

Have yoo not 'published' your book

Just had an email from the billing department at Netflix about my overdue subscription.

Forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk and then deleted.