Spear phishing scam?

13

Comments

  • SomeOne_2
    SomeOne_2 Posts: 144 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited 5 April 2016 at 5:25PM
    Whilst you did mention that it belonged to that organisation, you also posted an email address which a bot can easily scrape.
    SomeOne
  • Rebel_Cause
    Rebel_Cause Posts: 190 Forumite
    I have just got the same thing, different company and the layout and wording you state is exactly the same.
  • UMustReadThis
    UMustReadThis Posts: 1 Newbie
    Mine was received on the 4th at my Gmail account. I'm in IT so am wise to most scams etc, but to date I have never received an email featuring my full name, email address and home address, which were all still valid.

    My head and experience said it was a scam because of the following:

    1. Grammatically dodgy in parts
    2. The return address was a housing association in Scotland that I'd never dealt with before
    3. The named Ltd company had been dissolved years ago
    4. The download link had a suffix of .DK and didn't look like an address you would have invoices stored.

    Anyhow, I searched Google yesterday but had no joy finding anyone who had received anything similar. This email would have gone straight in the bin, but my details showing had made me paranoid.

    To cut a long story short I decided to use my backup lappy to click on the link, I'm running Eset, Malwarebytes and Crypto Prevent so I was confident one of them would stop the payload.

    I clicked on the link and it takes you to a download page on a service that has been compromised, there is a zip file which has your name and invoice as the file name. You have to enter a capture and then hit submit to start the download.

    Bang, Eset sprung to life and stopped the download because the payload was a TROJAN which was only added to their virus definitions yesterday. I tried it on another lappy that has f-secure and that also stopped it in it's tracks, so whatever you do DO NOT be tempted to click on that link out of curiosity.
  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Don't ever click on any link in any email out of curiosity. Only ever click on a link in an email if you know exactly where it is going and you actually want to go there. And even then check it.
  • SomeOne_2
    SomeOne_2 Posts: 144 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    This has also made it to BBC News:

    Phishing email that knows your address - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35977227
    SomeOne
  • JAG
    JAG Posts: 1,304 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    I received a similar email and my postal address contained the same error that was only on an old eBay account.

    So they must be using data collected from one of the eBay security breaches.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35996408
  • inflationbuster
    inflationbuster Posts: 250 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    I've just deleted my eBay account.
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,089 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Post First Anniversary
    inflationbuster wrote: »
    I've just deleted my eBay account.

    You should move house, just to make sure.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,190 Ambassador
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    inflationbuster wrote: »
    I've just deleted my eBay account.

    That's fine, do whatever you feel is important.

    Not sure how an historical leak is going to be prevented by no longer having the account though- and ultimately the same rules apply, don't click on strange links. If you are nervous online or think that perhaps you might fall for a phishing mail or malware then go onto the tech board and ask them to recommend a really strong anti virus programme that will weed out anything nasty before you even see it. If you have clicked on anything then the tech board is still the best place to go for advice.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,551 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    inflationbuster wrote: »
    I've just deleted my eBay account.

    You need to delete your email account and your name and address.



    Still not got one :( Although my address is the same on ebay, my name wont be.

    I use a different variation on ebay and paypal. So it it was an old email linked to both then i will know which one.

    I have used different emails addresses for ebay and paypal for a while now so looking forward to my spam :)
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

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