I THINK IT IS A SCAM

[pip1954]

hi i just got an email making out it came from paypal saying i was paying £42 for skype subscription with a link under it saying if you did not agree to this payment you can dispute it i clicked the link then relised it was wrong and stopped it before it loaded ,you have got to be alert all the time from this sort of thing barstewerds .
just thought i would give the heads up
it looks very convincing
pip

 

[cedarwood]

Had one the other day saying I had won the euromillions and to get in touch with the south african office ha ha dont play that lotto so it went straight in the junk pile.

 

[carlb40]

Stuff like that i always report as a phishing scam. I get daily emails from 'paypal' - you just need to look at who it's from at the top and who it's to

 

[RogerP]

I've had several saying I'd won on the Euromillions or Lotto - which is pretty amazing as I've never ever bought a ticket!

 

[mark2191]

I get emails like that all the time, I never open them, just delete straight away

 

[JustBen]

Best thing to do in future if you think it might be genuine is to go to the site directly ie via google and never click a link.
If there is an issue, it will be on the homepage once you've logged in.

 

[Jonzjob]

If you get an e-mail and you aren't sure who it's from there will usually be a link they want you to click on. Like the one below in blue



If you hover the cursor over it it will display the actual address of the link. If it's a goodie it will show the same as the blue link, but it could also show a totally different link and as far as I know if it does it goes in the bin. Just try it on the e-mail you got for this post to see what I mean. Not on the one in the pikky above but in yer mail programme.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

One of the quick ways to determine phishing scams from well known companies like ebay and/or banks/paypal is in the addressee name. The industry standard is that your actual surname would be used if genuine so Dear Mr Jones etc. The Phishers almost always start with Dear Paypal User or equivalent because of course they don't actually have your identity on their database so they use a generic greeting.

Also, banks et al will never ask you to disclose any personal details via e mail.

 

[Harbo]

I've just received one from Apple saying my account has been closed unless I take immediate action to update my details- I don't think so?!!

Rod

 

[JustBen]

I've just received one from Apple saying my account has been closed unless I take immediate action to update my details- I don't think so?!!

Rod

I get that one about twice a week.

 

[MMUK]

I used to get mails from Nat West and Santander virtually every day. Funny that, about the only two banks I've never had an account with :lol:

 

[wellywood]

I got a phone call this morning. An automated voice told me I had won a choice of $5000.00 cash or a trip to Vegas to see an Elvis tribute.
So, Press 1 for the money, 2 for the show...

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

=D> =D> =D>

 

[morfa]

I'm going to put the following in bold, so that every one who chances upon this thread sees it:

Assume by default that an email is a scam / spam.

Unless you are 100% sure the email is from who it says it is, then it's a scam. If it's from someone you know but it seems/looks odd then their PC might be infected. Just delete the email. If it's legit, they can always resend you the email.

If it's from a legitimate company, asking you to click a link and fill in details, then it's always spam/scam. Banks will never send you emails like that. Nor will paypal, DHL, Fedex, any other shipping company.

I run a number of email servers and spam accounts for around 60% of our emails sent to us. It's thought that the real volumes could be around 80-90% of all email is spam/scam email.

On the subject of web security:

Always use a different password for each website.

A long password is better than a short password. eg:

dogs - poor
d0G$ - also poor
B4ndsaw$ - better, but not as good as you might hope
dogsbandsawsbobjanetomwillfredsueplanerouter - despite the number of dictionary words in it, actually pretty good (it's the length that's the important thing)

Or get a totally random one from here:

https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

And use a password storage program to store your passwords.

And for online shopping if the price is too good to be true, then it's a scam. eg that camera that's £500 when everywhere else sells it for £1000, that's dodgy.

 

[MMUK]

And use a password storage program to store your passwords.

All very well and good until some scrote hacks into your system. Then he/she has all your passwords :roll:

 

[morfa]

And use a password storage program to store your passwords.

All very well and good until some scrote hacks into your system. Then he/she has all your passwords :roll:

Firstly, this isn't the physical world, 'scrotes' don't hack your PC. The vast majority of exploits that are based at PCs are aimed at installing a bot so that the PC can be used to spam, they are all totally automated. You don't get people sitting down going 'I'm going to manually hack bob down the road'.

Secondly, all password software does encrypt the database which the password is stored in. So if someone does get control of your PC, they'd then have to hack the software (or guess the password that you use). A fairly unlikely scenario.

Thirdly, I'd be much more worried about a large website getting hacked (and that would be targetted) and getting your password nicked that way. But if you have a good password and use a different one for each site then you've limited the damage there. Or getting your credit card details (which is what folk hacking websites are often after).

Finally, If someone specifically targets you, then they'll get in. But a bit like real life, as long as you follow a number of basic precautions, then you'll seriously reduce the chances of getting hit. If I really wanted to track you down, hack your PC and steal what's on your PC, then it's quite possible, but that's highly targetted and if someones targetting you personally like that, then you've got serious problems above and beyond loosing a few passwords.

So yes, there is a risk with a password manager, but there's risks with everything. I genuinely believe that using a decent password manager with long random passwords is miles better than trying to remember 20-30 decent passwords.

Honestly tho, if you use a different password for each website you use and it's longer than 10 characters, you're already way above what most people do (i,e, you're no longer the lowest piece of fruit on the tree...). Using seriously complex passwords and a password manager, would I reckon give you a pretty decent level of security.

 

[Grahamshed]

I got a phone call this morning. An automated voice told me I had won a choice of $5000.00 cash or a trip to Vegas to see an Elvis tribute.
So, Press 1 for the money, 2 for the show...

Love it. =D> :lol:

 

[KevM]

Using seriously complex passwords and a password manager, would I reckon give you a pretty decent level of security.

I read somewhere recently that using phrases with spaces is more difficult to crack than complex passwords.

e.g. "I am Kev's password for UKWorkshop", is tougher than "!@m@P@55w)rd"

Unfortunately many sites restrict the nature of passwords you use which is where the unique complex passwords come in. I store all mine in Lastpass with a complex master phrase, if somebody with sinister intent with a baseball bat/chainsaw/goose feather/picture of a puppy wants to know the password the chances are I'll tell them!

 

[MMUK]

Personally I prefer to use my own brain to remember passwords. That way no-one will ever find it out either accidentally or maliciously. I have software to protect against keystroke bots so I'm happy enough that I'm protected.

 

[KevM]

Personally I prefer to use my own brain to remember passwords. That way no-one will ever find it out either accidentally or maliciously. I have software to protect against keystroke bots so I'm happy enough that I'm protected.

That's where phrase based passwords come into their own