This scam uses Facebook to trick people into completing a survey. It starts with an interesting Facebook message like the ones below,
CLICK HERE to see the status udpate that got a girl expelled from school!!
or
OMG… This GIRL KILLED Herself After HER DAD Posted This ON Her WALL!
or
OMG! Look What this Kid did to his School after being Expelled! After this 11 year old child was expelled from his school he went beserk
Anyone curious enough to click on the link is taken to a page that “looks like” Facebook, but isn’t Facebook. Then two things happen:
And that’s it. There’s no interesting video or article. It’s just a viral scam – it spreads because it sounds interesting.
So if you come across this, don’t click on the links, and let the person who posted it know about the scam.
Thanks to DBM for writing in and letting me know about it. I’m sure that by letting others know about scams we can all help reduce them.
This email claims to be from Skype, offering a new version to download. It’s fake, the link has nothing to do with Skype.
Remember, Skype does not email you and me with links to download. Skype will update itself.
NEW VERSION OF SKYPE 2011 IS RELEASED
Dear Skype Users,
To start New Year 2011 with new features, options and improvements, we’ve just released the new version of Skype Software.
<link removed for security reasons>
New in this version :
* Up to 5-way group video call.
* Redesigned calling experience.
* Improved video snapshots gallery.
* Improved browser plugins performance on some websites.
* Reduced false positives on browser plugin phone number recognition.
* New presence icons.
* Improved handling of calling attempts made when the user has run out of credit.
* Improved access to sharing functionalityTo check and download the latest version , go to :
<link removed for security reasons>
Start downloading the update right now and let us know what you think about it.
We’re working on making Skype better all the time !
Talk soon,
The people at Skype
====================== PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD ===========================
Skype or Skype Staff will NEVER ask you for your password via email. The only place you are asked for your password is when you sign in to the Skype application or our website.
If you see the above email, delete it or mark it as spam.
The following email claims to be from Adobe and suggests to install a new version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It’s fake. Adobe does not email people asking them to download and install new versions.
The email says:
ADOBE ACROBAT READER 2011 UPDATE NOTIFICATION
This is to remind that a new version of Adobe Acrobat Reader 2011 with enhanced features for viewing, creating, editing, printing and internet-sharing PDF documents has been released.
To check and download the latest version , go to :
<link removed for security reasons>
Start downloading the update right now and let us know what you think about it.
We’re working on making Adobe Acrobat Reader better all the time !
Thanks and best regards,
Adobe Support
© 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Adobe Systems Incorporated |343 Preston Street | Ottawa | ON | K1S 1N4 | Canada |
Remember, if you see this email just delete it, or mark it as spam.
Update: There’s now another version of this email, it too is a scam. The email looks like:
Adobe is pleased to announce that a new version of Acrobat PDF Reader was released today with new features, options and improvements.
<link removed for security>
What’s new in this version :
* Read, search, and share PDF files. * Convert to PDF. * Export and edit PDF files * Add rich media to PDF files * Combine files from multiple applications * Increase productivity and process consistency * Streamline document reviews * Collect data with fillable PDF forms * Protect PDF files and content * Comply with PDF and accessibility standards
To get more and upgrade to this version, go to :
<link removed for security>
Start downloading the update right now and let us know what you think about it.
We’re working on making Adobe Acrobat Reader better all the time !
Talk soon,
The people at Adobe
Copyright © 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
The following email is a scam, it looks confusing and encourages readers to click on a link. And there are many links in this email, all pointing to a hacker’s virus infected site.
Below is the email, with personal details and all of the malicious links removed:
Dear …,
Thank you for scheduling your recent credit card payment online. Your ($USD) $117.00 payment will post to your credit card account (CREDIT CARD) on 08/06/2010.
Now that you’re making your payment online, are you aware of all the convenient ways you can manage your account online?
Just log on to www.chase.com/creditcards today. Using the "I’d like to…" links for your credit card account, you can access more than a dozen features, including links to:
See statements – Choose to stop receiving paper statements, and see up to six years of your statements online.
See automatic payments – Set up monthly payments to be made automatically.
Transfer a balance – Transfer a balance to your credit card account.
Go to Personalized Alerts – Schedule Alerts to remind you of key account activity.
You can also see past payments you’ve made online by logging on to www.chase.com/creditcards and clicking "See/cancel payments" under "I’d like to …"If you have questions, please call the Customer Service number on the back of your credit card.
Thanks again for using online payments.
Sincerely,
Cardmember Services
Never trust emails like this, especially if you don’t have an account with the company.
A useful trick to spot these scams is:
E.g., the email above talks a lot about chase.com. This is a real company in USA. 
When I place my mouse pointer over the link, my browser says it goes somewhere different. The addresses don’t match, this is a scam. See the picture on the right.
Any unsolicited email that asks you to open an attachment is bad. If that attachment is a program then you can consider it a scam. Below is an email I received with a link to malware. It’s asking me to download and run an unknown program. The email also says it was sent by me, rather odd. I’ve removed personal details from the email,
A new settings file for the <email address> has just been released
Dear user of the <email address> mailing service!
We are informing you that because of the security upgrade of the mailing service your mailbox <email address> settings were changed. In order to apply the new set of settings please click to this link and open file((If clicking the link in this message does not work, copy and paste it into the address bar of your browser.)
http://<removed>/ settings.exe
Best regards, <email address> Technical Support.
The words in italics and in < > are my changes, to make it easier to read and search, and to avoid linking to the actual malware.
Any email that looks like the above is suspicious. Any attachment (and especially one that ends with .exe) is suspicious, and when it says that I sent it to myself it leaves no doubt that this is a scam that links to malware.
Learning to recognise these scam emails is important. Relying on virus scanners is good but common sense also helps.
Here’s something that happens every day, a message appears in your web browser telling you a virus was found and to click OK to do a scan. To get straight to the point, this is a fake antivirus program designed to trick you into installing real malware.
If you see this on your browser, close the browser. Don’t click on any buttons. And most importantly, don’t panic. These scams are designed to scare you into making irrational decisions.
Below are screenshots of how it looks (click to enlarge the screenshots):
This type of scam happens on both Windows and Mac computers.
If you receive the following email about SmileWorld delete it, don’t click on the attachment. It’s a scam.
Dear Customer,
This e-mail was send by smileworld.com to notify you that we have temporanly prevented access to your account.
We have reasons to beleive that your account may have been accessed by someone else. Please run attached file and Follow instructions.
(C) smileworld.com
Note how many spelling mistakes and typographical errors there are in the email. A serious company would proof read any emails such as this.
Also, there is no reason for any company to send you unsolicited attachments. It’s a sure sign of a scam.
Some ads have appeared on Facebook and Twitter. The ads are:
Note how many mistakes there are on the second one, a clear sign of a scam.
All of these ads are part of a scam. They take you to a site that asks for your name, address, date of birth, and email. These details are used to send you more spam.
Then you are taken to an online gambling site, hoping that you’ll be tempted to hand over money.
Nearly 40,000 Facebook users have been tricked by this scam, and it doesn’t end there. The same scam is also used for fake food gift certificates, and no doubt will continue to evolve.
If you see scams like these, please don’t forward the message along. You don’t want your friends and family to fall victims of a scam. Do proper research before passing any “bargain” messages along.
Recent Comments