IMPORTANT! Have you received an email to your forum username?

angelsmomma

I have had loads of spam too in the last week or so since getting the email. I opened but did not click the link. I only notice this new spam as it is mostly of the hey look at this variety and dating !!! stuff. I also seem to be getting a lot of viagra emails. They are getting through into my inbox which is worrying.

joe134

joe134 wrote: »

Hi, Again I reitterate, I have never used my g-mail on this site.I set my g-mail up to enable me to use 1899.com, as aol, do not allow it through, the link to 1899 was "perhap" via a link from this site?That was 4 years ago.I never use it for anything else, I even have difficullty remembering my password.I used it yesterday to view my 1899 invoice, and MSE e-mail was there.I immediatly deleted it, and as you know, usually, bogus e-mails tend to be un-retrievable, as this one was. I have had severaral bogus HSBC ones lately,requesting details of A/C, deleted, and they dissappear.This e-mail was definitely MSE related, only MSE know what they do with e-mails submmitted to them.I do not believe in coincidences, and MSE are on top of it, but I think they could have Highlighted it as urgent on the home page, nobody uses all sites, ie. feedback site, this is my first time in 5 years.I never noticed it discussed on Techie site, doesn,t mean it,s not there;To me there seems to be a third party link here, something does not add up.

Hi UPDATE.Just retrieved my spoof e-mail from g-mail. It says MONEYEXPERT. HI JOE134, etc.it,s my proper username.rest of e-mail same as others.They got username and g-mail address from somewhere????It,s been a bumper harvest for apples this year, looks like a bumper year for usernames and e-mails too, for some.

welshgeorge

I have just opened the weekly newsletter and had to scroll half way down the page before I found the item about the scam. WHY? Surely this should have been the headline item. It's all a question of priorities and you got the judgement call wrong on this one Martin and Team.

smk77

joe134 wrote: »

The entirely opposite to me, so if they hacked into old forum users like me et.al, how have they got my g-mail address which I hardly ever use, only had it for 1899 years ago.My g-mail must be logged by MSE somewhere other than forum users.Notified webmaster today

Does your gmail have the same prefix? i.e. joe134@gmail.com and joe134@aol.com?

A spammer could easily have taken the prefix of all the email addresses stolen from MSE (because the can quite often be names of people or nicknames) and added many different domain names and therefore increasing the number of possible victims. If there is a mart1n.lewis@aol.com there is probably a mart1n.lewis@gmail.com, mart1n.lewis@hotmail.com, [email]mart1n.lewis@yahoo.com....all[/email] possible email addresses obtained from just stolen email address.

abandonded

I've nothing in my e-mail, but I do have a pm here that will remain unopened. Know little or nothing about computers so this worries me.

joe134

smk77 wrote: »

Does your gmail have the same prefix? i.e. [EMAIL="joe134@gmail.com"]joe134@gmail.com[/EMAIL] and [EMAIL="joe134@aol.com"]joe134@aol.com[/EMAIL]?

A spammer could easily have taken the prefix of all the email addresses stolen from MSE (because the can quite often be names of people or nicknames) and added many different domain names and therefore increasing the number of possible victims. If there is a [EMAIL="mart1n.lewis@aol.com"]mart1n.lewis@aol.com[/EMAIL] there is probably a [EMAIL="mart1n.lewis@gmail.com"]mart1n.lewis@gmail.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="mart1n.lewis@hotmail.com"]mart1n.lewis@hotmail.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="mart1n.lewis@yahoo.com....all"]mart1n.lewis@yahoo.com....all[/EMAIL] possible email addresses obtained from just stolen email address.

It doesn,t mention any domain. It had to be joe134@g-mail because it went into my g-mail inbox,I haven,t had joe134@aol which is my registered one with MSE, the one that we presume was stolen.Why use g-mail when they are sure aol is my real domain?I understand your idea, but I would have thought I would have got one via aol first, but I ,ve had nothing.If I had one via aol. I may have been duped into opening it:::Because it was in g-mail I just deleted it, without knowing about any spoof mse e-mails.Seconds later I got cosher weekly e-mail and read about it there, half way down;;;;;PS, there are nearly 900 posts on this, and although I haven,t read every one, Has anyone located this TROJAN, what,s it called, and how has whatever problem it,s supposed to have caused, been solved.Who found out it was a trojan, and is it Maliscous, these are the main things, not who has and hasn,t got it?A poll is not solving any problems,It,s not the cause, it,s the cure thats needed,MSE

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

abandonded wrote: »

I've nothing in my e-mail, but I do have a pm here that will remain unopened. Know little or nothing about computers so this worries me.

If the PM is from a couple of days ago it will likely be the one sent out by the MSE team to warn of this problem, so safe to read.

abandonded

Thanks for the reassurance! Still, I really dont want to go there. If I leave it unopened, will it eventually be removed?

PS Did all members get such messages then?

swanny65

I have caught bits and pieces of Martin on Daybreak yesterday and today on Radio 5Live. Nothing mentioned about this problem that i heard.....

Would have been helpful to those members who perhaps no longer use the site.

Will it be in any of Martin's press work.

nilrem_2

abandonded wrote: »

Thanks for the reassurance! Still, I really dont want to go there. If I leave it unopened, will it eventually be removed?

PS Did all members get such messages then?

It is completely safe to read, all members would have been sent the PM.

If you wish to delete the message without looking at it just place a tick in the box at the right of the message in your message folder, go to the bottom of the messages and in the box at bottom right labelled selected messages choose delete from the drop down box and hit the button marked GO

This is what is in the message-:

Important! Have you received an email to your forum name? Hi,

This is a belt n braces PM just in case you haven’t seen the forum-wide announcement. Some MSE forum users have been receiving a spam email from malicious hackers, purporting to be from 'Money Expert' and addressed to their MSE forum usernames. (read full MSE News story: Forum members warned)

In most cases its goes straight to people’s spam/junk file, but if not please don’t open the email – it is not from us (nor is it from the money expert website). It contains a link leading to a type of virus called a 'Trojan' so please DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK! (It’s also an important reminder to read about Free Anti-Virus software and backup all your files regularly).

We want to outline the risks for you and what steps you should take though...

• We don't hold any personal data on individuals - barring email addresses. That is and always has been a deliberate policy both because we don't need/want more data than this, plus in the event something like this happens (and attempts are made every minute!) so at worst if you’re one of those affected these people only have your email and possibly forum user name
• If you use the same password as with your bank - consider changing it urgently. We have absolutely NO evidence that forum users passwords have been accessed, it would be a particularly difficult thing to break the encryption. However if you use the same password here as for a bank website or any other that holds sensitive personal data, and use the same email as your forum email – we suggest you change those passwords as a precaution.

As a general rule it is always bad practice in any forum or social networking site to use a password that you use for secure data.

We apologise wholeheartedly for the hassle caused - we've been through some major security exercises over the last year including bringing in outside consultants to check for any flaws, to try and avoid instances like this. Yet this unfortunately reflects the murkier side of the internet that it is a constant battle to keep out.

We are still investigating, and will continue to update this thread with any new information we find:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2866884

Please help us work out what's going on...

We have a suspicion that only forumites who joined before Dec 2009 will be receiving these emails, as we are yet to receive verified proof of a breach in 2010 – there was one in 2009 read about that here.

However, if you are a more recent member and have received one of these emails, it would be a massive help if you can forward it to [EMAIL="webmaster@moneysavingexpert.com"]webmaster@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL] and include your username.

Thanks

The MSE Team