The script kiddies are getting ballsy
I get an above number of spam emails compared to most people I know. Most of them are taken care of by filters I've set up. I've seen more than my share of ads for mortgage refinancing, Viagra and Cialis offers, stock tips, online casinos, and on and on. I also get scams which look like they come from legitimate sources. The kind where "The Citi" has noticed that your accounts are being used in a suspicious manner and would you kindly enter your account information here (including the all-important check digit on the back) so they can verify that you are you and make sure that everything is cool with your credit card. At least until they get to your account themselves, after which you'll get a phone call from the *real* Citibank who will then proceed to tell you that someone's been using your account to buy Viagra and Cialis online and buying into online casinos.
Today I got an interesting one pretending to be from eBay. It was an obvious scam email, if only for the fact that it wasn't actually addressed directly to me. I'm sure I was part of a large bcc group. It had the usual bad grammar and formatting -- the grammar was bad in the "I'm 15 years old and hacking together a scam; I don't have time to pay attention in English class" way. Not the grammar that's used by people for whom English is not a first (or second) language. Allow me to share:
WE have been trying to get members to update there accounts Your account has been Flagged as not updated.
Protecting the security of your eBay auction account is our primary concern, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.Comments are welcomed!
In order to update your account information, you need to complete the following ! If not, your account may Be CLOSED and errors may occur without notification If you have gotten this before you Must of failed to complete ALL FEILDS!
Stunning, isn't it?
But it's what information they ask you for that's the ballsy part:
User ID
Password
Account type Seller Buyer
First Name
M.I.
Last Name
email password
address
city
state
phone
zip code
Card Number
Expiration Date
social Security Number
Atm Pin
Date Of Birth
Mothers Maiden Name
Drivers lisence number
Bank Account#
Routing #
Wow. They sure do want to make sure you are who you say you are. I'm sure that when they send this out again, with improvements, they'll also ask for a DNA sample and fingerprints.
Well, I filled it out just for fun. Stuff like George W. Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C., etc. Shucks. The email account is shut off. I wonder if that means eBay is having a problem with their email servers? The email return address, something3434 @ yahoo.com is unknown to the intermediate mail gateway now, so I'm sure it's been shut off.
I'll tell ya. Kids these days. If they put as much effort into video games as they did hacking, we'd be up to Final Fantasy XX now, instead of just X. They still wouldn't be able to read or write but they'd be off the internet and on the video game consoles.
posted by Bob at
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
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