Phishing and SPAM Email

[Caraccioli]

In today's email, I found the following 3 spam messages in this order (I couldn't make this stuff up, I swear):

From: Alberta Wooten...Subject: Longer...Harder

From: Joan Hall..............Subject: repugnant

From: Shields N.Basil.....Subject: paradoxical

Further down in the list was this one (too bad it wasn't fourth):

From: climactic...............Subject: of course he has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Guggenheim...

[Red-Handed Jill]

Today I got:

"Out a convicted you that only Fall the Galactic centers, of the regent."

Ummm....

[The Doctor]

I'm fairly certain that unless one is trying to break into the Thai porn industry, there's no need for penis AND breast enlargement pills. Just a thought.

[Gigi]

My favorite spam subject line so far has been "Bendy Boner Blues". At least they had the alliteration down.

[Caraccioli]

Today I got:

"Out a convicted you that only Fall the Galactic centers, of the regent."

Ummm....

It's poetry, see? Possibly the beginning of a great epic sci-fi novel, grand in scope and scale, the movie adaptation of which may star John Travolta.

[PyratePhil]

...and here I thought I was becoming popular with Zen poetry masters...

[Caraccioli]

A banner spam weekend for my email! These are in order, once again.

This set makes me feel like I'm eavesdropping on three women having a conversation in a deli... (What could they be talking about?)

From: Eve N.Maynard........Better left for evenings.

From: Peggy......................There are always exceptions.

From: Gertrude Albert.......describe [the?] furthest

And then, naturally, the email conversation of SPAM topics turns inevitably towards sex and religion (maybe that's what they were talking about?)

From: Sales...........................Make your thing bigger in view [a few?] simple steps

From: Sylvester X.Freeman....finite

From: potbellied....................conceptual agnostic

From: Freeman......................occurrence monk

[Red-Handed Jill]

You'll love this one...

"flabbergast gedanken thrombosis"

[Iron Bess]

You'll love this one...

"flabbergast gedanken thrombosis"

[Caraccioli]

Gedanken? Gedanken...

"`Gedanken' is a German word for `thought'. A thought experiment is one you carry out in your head."

So far, I like gedanken!

"In physics, the term `gedanken experiment' is used to refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out, but useful to consider because it can be reasoned about theoretically. (A classic gedanken experiment of relativity theory involves thinking about a man in an elevator accelerating through space.) Gedanken experiments are very useful in physics, but must be used with care. It's too easy to idealize away some important aspect of the real world in constructing the `apparatus'."

This is how I have any understanding at all of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

"Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation. It is typically used of a project, especially one in artificial intelligence research, that is written up in grand detail (typically as a Ph.D. thesis) without ever being implemented to any great extent. Such a project is usually perpetrated by people who aren't very good hackers or find programming distasteful or are just in a hurry. A `gedanken thesis' is usually marked by an obvious lack of intuition about what is programmable and what is not, and about what does and does not constitute a clear specification of an algorithm." [source of quote: http://www.jargon.net/jargonfile/g/gedanken.html ]

Gedanken!

[Red-Handed Jill]

Got this one this morning - it seemed apropos...

"Pillage decided"

[PyratePhil]

cosmopolis Aesculapius wanhsien murrhine menuhin swordcraft

...I must admit - "swordcraft" caught my eye...

[Caraccioli]

Yeah, that's what they're hoping...some random word will get'cha.

[Misson]

Oh, now this one is clever! I might even have clicked on it had they not made a couple of key mistakes I know to watch out for.

From: "vintagepostcards" <bhsjv@peoplepc.com>

Subject: You've received a postcard from a Family member!

Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 00:15:07 -0700

Hi. Family member has sent you a postcard.

See your card as often as you wish during the next 15 days.

SEEING YOUR CARD

If your email software creates links to Web pages, click on your

card's direct www address below while you are connected to the

Internet:

http://125... (a whole bunch of numbers I will not glorify by reposting them) ...95523

Or copy and paste it into your browser's "Location" box (where

Internet addresses go).

PRIVACY

vintagepostcards honors your privacy. Our home page and Card Pick

Up have links to our Privacy Policy.

TERMS OF USE

By accessing your card you agree we have no liability. If you don't

know the person sending the card or don't wish to see the card,

please disregard this Announcement.

We hope you enjoy your awesome card.

Wishing you the best,

Administrator

The first thing I saw that raised my hackles was "Family member has sent you a postcard." Bad grammer. Often a sign of SPAM.

Second was the term "Family member" itself. I have learned never to trust something that isn't addressed to you by name and, in this case, from an individual by name.

The third was that the email address is a peoplepc.com addy. Most firms doing stuff like this would have xxxx@vintagecards.com or some such.

The fourth was that the addres was a long (very long) string of numbers with no short cut URL name. Taken alone, that's not quite enough to completely dismiss it, but it's suspicious. I would have expected www.vintagecardios.com/card=xxyyzz or some such.

Still...pretty clever. High marks to them for this one.

"Okay, alright, important safety tip, thanks Egon."

[Red-Handed Jill]

I've been getting those A LOT lately. "Cards" from family members, mates, friends, etc.

[Misson]

Huh. That's the first one I've seen.

[Misson]

Ah, two more phishing eCards. One from "Neighbor" and one from "Class Mate." I like that they capitalized them so that they look sort of like formal names.

Got one this morning that I just liked the sender's name:

From: Johnathon Yazzie Subject: It may strengthen your relationship with your partner.

I wonder if he means my cat? Eww...I looked at the message. I hope he doesn't mean my cat! The cat would be awfully put out. (Like right out the screen window.)

Johnathon Yazzie...hey William Red Wake! I think I know what I want to name my doctor character for PiP!

[PyratePhil]

I seem to have more Family members the last few months than I thought possible - the permutations boggle the mind.

Almost makes me long for the days when my good friends, the widows of the late African-nation Presidents, wanted to send me money.

[Red-Handed Jill]

Yes, but the mails are sometimes so amusing... Here's an example of one I got today (the subject was "Still rocky feeling"):

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[Misson]

Why, it's the long lost sequel to Jabberwocky! Either that or the galley for the next Harlequin romance.

[Misson]

Ooh, a good one from Amazon. The email address threw me (although it shouldn't have. They obviously would have my email address if they sent me the email. )

"Hello USERNAME@SOMEMAILSERVER.com,

Greetings from Amazon Payments.

Your bank has contacted us regarding some attempts of charges from your credit card via the Amazon system. We have reasons to believe that you changed your registration information or that someone else has unauthorized access to your Amazon account Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized listings placed on your account, we will require a second confirmation of your identity with us in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. Your account is not suspended, but if in 48 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to suspend your Amazon registration. If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of Amazon policy to represent oneself as another Amazon user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. Amazon is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To confirm your identity with us click here:

[link edited out]

After responding to the message, we ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated. Emailing us before that time will result in delays. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you and we would like to thank you for your cooperation as we review this matter.

Thank you for your interest in selling at Amazon.com.

Amazon.com Customer Service

http://www.amazon.com

This message and any files or documents attached may contain classified information. It is intended only for the individual or entity named and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the intended recipient or authorized to receive it, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately then delete it from your system. Please also note that transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free.

[Misson]

Got this one today:

From: Cottrell - Subject: Get a large penis scar free

And I'm thinking, 'As opposed to what? Paying for one?" Or are the youths today into some new fad that I hadn't heard about?

[William Brand]

Aye. One of those few SPAM emails in dire need of punctuation.

[Mission]

Some things never change. Got this in my email today [link removed]:

"n

A Spy-device that lets you watch trough the clothes.

ky7"

And, from Popular Science, 1965:

(Notice that both have typos in them...although you might be able to argue about "An hilarious..." It is my understand that "an" is primarily used in front of a word beginning with 'h' only when the 'h' is silent or the speaker is snobby. ("An historical" seems to be one of the exceptions, although it is proper either way from what I understand.))

[Lady Cassandra Seahawke]

careful about opening anything even the original email let alone any attachments. There is now a program that can be downloaded to computers that will circumvent any of the anti-spyware programs. Once it is downloaded you will not be able to tell it is even there it will note you keylogging and transmit any information that seems like bank or personal data.

The company I work for sent me to a seminar about computer security and the guy was an expert on the subject. The best bet is that if you subject it is spam "don't open it and delete it completely from your system immediately"

There are some spyware programs that will attached even if you don't open it but allow it remain on the computer for x amount of time.

Really freaky what some people can/will do to get someone's personal information.