Probably a daft question but

hethmar

When you get hotmail emails that are offering you a share of a Nigerian Bank Manager's ill gotten gains or telling you to enter all your details or your hotmail account will be deleted, that sort of stuff and you click on the "Mark as ...........Phishing scam" button - does anything actually get done about them? Does Hotmail collect all those addresses and try to stop the phishing at all?

Taffybiker

Don't know about hotmail, as a firefox user I have the option to report a web forgery. Like everyone else, I receive emails about bank accounts being closed/suspended if you don't take action now and enter all my personal details into a website.
I do visit the website so I can report it if it's not already done. I am not fooled by these scams but some people are: I like to think I may have saved someone heatache.

spakkker

You could forward the details to the police.

pcombo

lol why bother just delete them everyone gets them.

busenbust

does anything actually get done about them? Does Hotmail collect all those addresses and try to stop the phishing at all?

Er, I think they'd be fighting a losing battle Lol.

Taffybiker

^^ Report the site to Firefox and they tag it as unsafe when anyone else tries to access it

hethmar

I just wondered if there was any point to using the "phishing scam" tab on hotmail at all. Thanks guys.

turbobob

Taffybiker wrote: »

Don't know about hotmail, as a firefox user I have the option to report a web forgery. Like everyone else, I receive emails about bank accounts being closed/suspended if you don't take action now and enter all my personal details into a website.
I do visit the website so I can report it if it's not already done. I am not fooled by these scams but some people are: I like to think I may have saved someone heatache.

I personally wouldn't do this if it involves clicking a link received in an email. Potentially the e-mail links have a unique reference in them that confirms to spammers that your address is active. You could receive more spam as a result of clicking a link. And also the site they link to could attempt to install malware. Safest is just to delete them, IMO (or forward to the financial institution if they have an address for sending spoof e-mails to for investigation).

RobTang

hethmar wrote: »

I just wondered if there was any point to using the "phishing scam" tab on hotmail at all. Thanks guys.

I'd imagine they are actually using it to improve their heuristic spam/phising detection engine, as they need real data to be of any use.