Latest E-mail Hoaxes

Latest e-mail hoaxes and how to avoid being scammed.

Got something phishy in your mailbox lately?

A recent survey conducted by ClearMyMail revealed that spam has increased significantly during the second quarter of 2008, the shocking numbers behind the spam e-mail threat indicate a troubling time for Internet users. The following are nine of the most prolific dangers.


Phishing
Is the process to acquire user data both criminally and fraudulently – often by masquerading as a trusted source or business. The user will unwittingly reveal financial information, memorable dates and passwords in response to a legitimate-looking e-mail or phone call. In the case of e-mail, the most telling sign of a phishing attack will be a link referencing a bogus URL.  In the past couple of years Phishers have spoofed a variety of different services – these have included online banking sites, online auctions and social networking groups.

Nigerian Money Scams
This is also known as the 419 scam (the Nigerian penal code for this type of crime). It is a confidence trick that encourages you to invest small sums of money with the promise of a larger payoff.  The e-mail is usually made to look like it was sent on behalf of a Government or an individual, who for some ridiculous reason are sitting on a vast sum of money. These scammers are an imaginative bunch, the stories range from rich foreign-nationals killed in plane crashes to corrupt government officials who have embezzled funds. If you agree to assist in retrieving the funds you are promised a share of the haul, which is jolly nice of them – isn't it?

Lottery Scams
Everybody dreams of winning big at least once in their life – millions of pounds are spent each year in the search for that elusive golden ticket. But what happens when you receive an e-mail claiming you're a winner when you haven't spent a penny? Lottery tricks are on the rise - but as long as you remember a few simple facts you can win too.

Like a lot of these scams the sender's identity will always be assumed or false - they might pretend to be a  representative of a global lottery organisation, or,  a recent trend is to imitate a big company like Microsoft. This is done in the hope of gaining your trust and to appear credible, but don't be fooled, the lure of the prize fund is merely a hook. The aim of the scam is the extraction of your personal information and you will never see a penny of the alleged prize-fund.

Withdrawal of 'free services'
This is a particularly popular e-mail trick. How often have you received "[Company Name] is withdrawing their free service". A list of popular products that have knowingly been targeted by such poisonous e-mails have included Hotmail, Messenger, Facebook, Myspace and Yahoo. And while such messages are designed to fool the user, the overriding aim is to tarnish the reputation of the service provider. The notice was once circulated to Hotmail users, and it is of course totally bogus.

"You must send this message to X number of friends to keep the service free!" This particular e-mail is engineered to cause panic among users. It is probably wise to point out that many services require you to log on once in every 90 days to ensure your account is not marked for deletion.

E-mail Petitions
I must admit that I am guilty of participating in the odd petition. But while their interference and damage is minimal they must also be included in our list of offenders. Signing and circulating such a petition fails to influence the higher powers or benefit the greater good. It would be lovely to make a real change with little effort but sadly this is the stuff of fantasy. As such the major short-coming of the e-petition is the lack of paper and ink it is written on – and in the eyes of many, this electronic version carries little substance.

Chain Mail
Not the stuff of knights and horses but those annoying e-mails that we love to forward on. By participating in such practices we are helping the spread of misinformation. These chains are often disguised with helpful warnings against a made-up danger or offer to reveal "your secret crush" if you press a combination of keys on your keyboard. Chains are becoming increasingly popular on social networking websites.

Virus Warning
The warning conceals an empty threat; a cleverly crafted virus hoax is almost as damaging as the real deal. Frightened individuals forward this very warning to family members, colleagues and friends alike. The fallout causes chaos and often brings mail servers to their knees. The effect can sometimes stretch even further and lead to some users becoming blasé about some threats - thereby ignoring all future virus warning messages. The bottom line is, don't rely on e-mails to tell you about the latest threats. Instead, invest in some decent virus protection and routinely scan for dangers.

Sympathy Scams
Even the most sensitive of subject matter cannot escape the pranksters reach. Whether it be September 11 and an e-mail advertising the last photo from the World Trade Center deck, or the plea to help find a missing child. Such attempts pray upon our empathy and take advantage of our good nature. Such examples promise to extend your support when you forward the message on to others, but obviously you know better than that?

Social Network Scams
Unsurprisingly hoaxers have now begun turning their attention to social networking websites and such attacks are on the rise. One of the more notorious threats is a worm that goes by the moniker 'Koobface'. This has been known to attack users of Facebook and other social networks by posting comments on your profile (posing as one of your friends). These comments will contain veiled links to external websites that in turn compromise your security. My advice would be to delete any suspicious messages and ask questions later! Always be on your guard, these days you can never be too careful.


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