Today's SPAM

[DaveReading]

I've always just tagged the mails as spam and ignored them, but I'm starting to wonder if the unsubscribe link will actually work, or if it will just confirm my email address as a live one...

If there's one way to almost guarantee more spam in future, it's to click on an "unsubscribe" link, thereby confirming that your email address points to a real person and increasing its value to spammers.

[PeteB99]

Anyone been phoned up by 'Matthew' about the government funded loft insulation that you haven't just had installed?

Or have I just told some innocent local tradesman to FOAD?

[Mr Larrington]

Had a spate of automated gubbinsment loft insulation spamcalls a while back but not from an Actual Person.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Multiple spamcalls from ‘BT’ about computer security settings.

[Salvatore]

Anyone been phoned up by 'Matthew' about the government funded loft insulation that you haven't just had installed?

Or have I just told some innocent local tradesman to FOAD?

Several times in the last couple of months.

[SoreTween]

Automated robot call in a very stern voice (something like):

Hello, you have missed a call from BT technical department.  There is suspicious activity associated with your internet IP.  If this is not fixed your internet and telephone will be disconnected.  Press 1 to speak to our technical team to get it fixed.

[Morat]

The spammers must have reclassified me. I'm no longer getting offers of ED pills and Eastern European Goddesses but Garden Sheds and woodworking plans.
I'm almost offended!

[Jaded]

Congratulations for your Premium account!

Plan for Premium Clients

, Congratulations for your Premium account!

We are very happy to have you on board.

As a Premium Client you've been exclusively invited in our Premium. In collaboration with our finance department, we have prepared a personal investment plan - just for you.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Phishing email spoofing Netflix asks users to ‘reset’ accounts within 72 hours

I got this and I have no Netflix account.

The link looks very legit however..

[Jaded]

Call back your total  $6133.16 from your accounting futox

[Jaded]

I enjoyed this one...

"Compare Funeral Plan Quotes today"

[ian]

Quite a clever phish today. There's an email in my inbox that actually has a correct mothership signature and even the name of an actual group in the business. Mindy, it seems, needs my help, urgently with the attached deal. Could I take a look?

The attached document is, of course, a double-barrelled doc HTML and her email is not that of the mothership, plus there's no phone or location detail in her signature.

But it looks superficially very bona fide. I came to close to absently clicking it as it's the sort of random request that is usually found treading water in my inbox.

[ian]

Explained by a cunning plot by our infosec team to trick the unwary in Mindy-clickage. I did wonder.

You may remember I failed the last test because I dropped a banana on my keyboard* and it opened the link and had to be re-educated. The banana, alas, got eaten.

*this is actually not a lie laid out for your delectation, I did and it did.

[TheLurker]

Explained by a cunning plot by our infosec team to trick the unwary ...

We get these too, but by virture of being a grumpy old sod with the social grace and charm of a hungover badger with toothache* I know that no-one would voluntarily send** me any sort of e-mail that isn't directly related to a very narrow, ooooh waffer thin, range of topics so they get shit-canned instantly.  Today's top security tip.  Social engineering only works on the adequately socialised so don't employ "team" players. 



*This is my work persona, adopted for the explicit purpose of repelling all the tedious shit that prevents real work from being done.  Outside work I can be as charming as the next axe-murderer.

**They don't much like talking to me either.  Result!

[ian]

We seem to be getting two or three calls a day now from 'BT Internet' about 'suspicious activity' and they 'cutting off our landline and internet.'

I'm pretty sure BT could do that without needing suspicious activity.

[Canardly]

Lots of emails concerning a non existent antivirus suite.

[Mr Larrington]

Hello My Dear.

Please do not feel disturbed for contacting you, based on the critical condition I find mine self, though, it's not financial
problem, but my health, you might have know that cancer is not what to talk home about, I am married to Mr. Shine Zuthimalin who worked with Tunisia embassy in Burkina Faso for nine years before he died in the year 2012.We were
married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for five days.

Since his death I decided not to remarry, When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of US$ 9.2m (Nine million two hundred thousand dollars) in a bank in Burkina Faso, Presently this money is still in bank. And My Doctor told me that I don't have much time to live because of the cancer problem, Having known my condition I decided to hand you over this fond to take care of the less-privileged people, you will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want you to take 30 Percent of the total money for your personal use While 70% of the money will go to charity" people and helping the orphanage.


I don't want my husband's efforts to be used by the Government. I grew up as an Orphan and I don't have anybody as my family member,

I am expecting your response to private email mrsshahinazzuthimalin9@gmail.com <== Here, spambot!  NICE spambot!!1!

Regards,

Mrs. Shahinaz Zuthimalin .
written from Hospital.

If "it's not financial" then why are you offering me money?  Please supply the address of the hospital so's I can send you a dictionary.

[TheLurker]

Mr Larrington shall henceforth be known as "My Dear" in the Lurker household.  I can just picture him, trundling along to Mr Sainsbury's HoTC with his basket on wheels....  *chortle*

[De Sisti]

Skyline Advisors (that's what they like to call themselves) 01535 029609 is the number that appeared on my phone as having called me.

"Have you been involved in a car accident in the past two years that wasn't your fault?"


I've blocked the number.

[hatler]

My phone's 'blocked number' listing has reached capacity.

My response to these particular calls is to ask "Which one ?" and then go on to explain that I've been involved in multiple collisions over the previous couple of years, and as they are calling me about a particular incident, they must have the details, so I ask for the date of the incident they are calling about. It generally wastes a bit of their time and stops them bothering others.

[De Sisti]

My phone's 'blocked number' listing has reached capacity.

My response to these particular calls is to ask "Which one ?" and then go on to explain that I've been involved in multiple collisions over the previous couple of years, and as they are calling me about a particular incident, they must have the details, so I ask for the date of the incident they are calling about. It generally wastes a bit of their time and stops them bothering others.

We must have the same playbook then.   They eventually hung up on me.

[Mr Larrington]

Mr Larrington shall henceforth be known as "My Dear" in the Lurker household.  I can just picture him, trundling along to Mr Sainsbury's HoTC with his basket on wheels....  *chortle*

It gets worse:

Good Day Dearest,

I am Mrs.Jessica maaly bob from Australia. It is understandable that
you may be a bit apprehensive because you do not know me; I found your
email address from a Human resources data base and decided to contact
you. I would love to employ you into my charity work; I am ready to
donate some money to you to carry on the Charity work in your country.
Please reply so that I will give you further details and tell you
about myself via email: jmaalybob77@gmail.com ["Or spambots may wish to try alhajihassankareem@aol.com instead" - The Invigilator]


Thanks and God bless you,

[Jaded]

Do letters from Jehovah’s witnesses count? Two this weekend.

[Mr Larrington]

Lt. Col. Larrington (retd.) is getting anything up to $BIGNUM phishing e-mails a day telling him that his subscription to $ANTI_VIRUS product has expired.  Fortunately these days he relies on Professor Larrington and me to read his e-mail and tell him if there’s anything important, which there rarely is.

Edit: And they all seem to contain stuff hosted by lenac-breil.ch, which is registered to one Sven Spescha of Chur, who is apparently an IT System Engineer with RTR (Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha), the drummer in Giganto & Mattiu and either an idiot or a scammer.

[Wowbagger]

Tax Refund Notification
Due to on-going Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and support for businesses, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund. Please submit the tax refund request and have your tax refund sent to your bank account in due time.
Please Click "Get Started" reference below to have your tax refund credit to your bank account in due time.
Get Started
Note : For Security reason we will record (IP Address, Time and Date) Delibrate Wrong input or flooding with be criminally pursued.
Best regards,
HM Revenue & Customs

Spot the Delibrate speeeling misteak.