Dodgy email

NicolaElize

Hi all

I've just checked my junk folder for a password for something and noticed a text only email invoicing me for an amount that is the exact amount of one of my debts. It looked pretty spammy with no company name, just a persons same followed by 'head of finance' and I won't bother taking it seriously but just wondered if anyone else had had this? It was a poorly written plain email which showed the exact amount I owe but in dollars not pounds, I just wonder if this is a "thing" where people can access your credit file and see what you owe to try and trick you into paying. I'm not sure if I've done something wrong somewhere along the line. I got the email on Friday and the same day I did use the national debt line website to write a full and final offer letter to the company chasing this debt (the actual company I've been dealing with), but I don't remember entering that exact figure anywhere on that occasion so I'm just not sure how someone could've got hold of this info.

Has anyone ever heard of this?
Very odd!
Thanks in advance

Johnmcl7

Was there a link to go to in the email? There is a phishing scam at the moment that seems to be using genuine address data harvested from somewhere that's catching people out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35977227

NicolaElize

There wasn't actually a link but it did refer to an attached invoice that wasn't there, I assumed that because it was in the junk file that's why I couldn't see anything apart from text.
It didn't refer to me by name but it did use my email address and a genuine debt. The email address was .ro so that's obviously suspicious.
It's definitely not a real email but they have obviously got an exact amount that I DO owe from somewhere. Just not sure how to deal with this

[Deleted User]

NicolaElize wrote: »

they have obviously got an exact amount that I DO owe from somewhere.

Not necessarily.

Johnmcl7

NicolaElize wrote: »

There wasn't actually a link but it did refer to an attached invoice that wasn't there, I assumed that because it was in the junk file that's why I couldn't see anything apart from text.
It didn't refer to me by name but it did use my email address and a genuine debt. The email address was .ro so that's obviously suspicious.
It's definitely not a real email but they have obviously got an exact amount that I DO owe from somewhere. Just not sure how to deal with this

It's likely there was an infected attachment which has been removed by the mail server, it sounds like the amount being the same is a coincidence particularly as it's in dollars rather than pounds. The rest of it sounds dodgy with it being flagged as spam, the bad English, questionable return address, removed invoice etc.

John

[Deleted User]

zx1, that would be an unbelievable coincidence if the fraudster got the exact amount by chance. Into the realms of David Icke spookiness.

shortcrust

Deleted User wrote: »

zx1, that would be an unbelievable coincidence if the fraudster got the exact amount by chance. Into the realms of David Icke spookiness.

I think it's a very believable coincidence - they send these emails to literally millions of people.

EDIT: I've just checked my spam folder and I've got two of them, each with different four figure sums.

[Deleted User]

Shortcrust, the exact amount ? down to the penny, I don't think so.

shortcrust

Deleted User wrote: »

Shortcrust, the exact amount ? down to the penny, I don't think so.

I really do think so.

As I said, they send to millions of people. You don't have to be Carol Vorderman to work out that for each email there are likely to be a handful of recipients who have a debt balance that matches the exact amount in the message. Some of those people are bound to notice, and sooner or later one of them will worry and post about it on here.

It's not an unbelievable coincidence, but rather a statistical certainty.

MuffinTops

I've been receiving a lot of these to my work account. The attached file is infected, and that's what they're hoping you'll open.