Beware the fake Facebook/Linked In Emails

Technology
#1

I've been getting dodgy emails today, First one from someone saying hubby's FB account was blocked (using one of his correct valid email address but not the one he uses for facebook) and then one from Linked In asking him to accept an invite from someone random called Dave (with no surname). Again it's not the email address he uses for Linked In so I knew it was a scam.


Being in IT we use many email addresses depending on what we're doing so I can trace usually valid addresses. This one is valid and someone dodgy has got hold of one of ours.


They have tried now with facebook saying 'your FB account is blocked' they include the Facebook logo, address etc on the email and buttons to reset your password on FB. Obviously I reported it to junk and deleted it. BUT someone else could easily be fooled. Word of advice NEVER click through on these types of emails - ALWAYS go directly to Facebook and check you can log in - then go through the official Facebook reset password process. Facebook will ask you security questions if in doubt.


The next attempt today has been for Linked In. Again using the same valid email address of my hubby they attempted to say he has not yet accepted an invite from Dave which was received 12 days ago. There are 2 buttons on the email - Accept and Ignore Privately. I'll ignore again thank you very much without pressing any of your buttons.


I checked LinkedIn and whilst he has invites none are from the mysterious Dave. So again - if you get these types of emails check them carefully - Ignore privately button gave me another indication it was dodgy as I wouldn't have expected this terminology as well as Dave having no surname.


Again always login to the LinkedIn website directly.


I'm fairly IT savvy but it is annoying me that someone has a valid email and keeps phishing, well sorry guys this time you can take the welly boot.



#2

Louise, I'm not sure about Live mail, but Gmail allows you to auto-unsubscribe for you, if you click on the spam button, which may help you.

I will indeed set up a thread, and I have already tracked down a couple of useful sites to start us off.

Regards

Nick

#3

Us too, it's part of the e-age.

#4

I get far less in the post that by email

#5

They do eventually. Treat them like the pile of 'pub' with the post every week.

#6

I have only done this a few times because I was a bit suspicious of the link, and send them to spam but they never stop.

#7

Careful with these deregistration things. Sometimes I have done it and found myself with several other ones coming because you have just told them you are there. I usually send them to spam. After doing that a few times spam recognises them and eventually they seem to disappear alone.

#8

Sometimes I receive newsletters that I don't want, disinscribe from them, but still get them. This is very annoying, especially one called lettre de genealogy

#9

I have gmail and three others. In each of the others some genuine mails go into either spam or trash, so I have to fish them out. Gmail does not miss a lot of spam but the spams seem to be getting more sophisticated and slipping through. On the other hand, my university mail, which I have for life, thank heaven, efficiently filters out all malware, viruses and yet it does not do so well with pretty obvious spams. So gmail is good.

#10

I get alot of spam and am with free on windows live which is supposed to filter this stuff, however, it tends to filter something I am waiting for because it doesn't like the attachment . If gmail is better perhaps I should switch to this - I already have an account.

#11

Please do that Nick, excellent idea.

Thanks

#12

I am waiting to break my record one day, I could not believe my spam box one day so counted how many lines a screen page, then how many pages and the rough calculation was 230. I average 80 a day at a fair guess, but have never succumbed to getting myself a Latvian, Russian, Nigerian, Filipina or any other kind of person out there entirely besotted with me, enlarging any part of my physique, buying an Alfa-Romeo for €60 (straight up, it was an online auction one where bidding started at by the way) or even attempting to reply to the 40 or 50 in Chinese every day...

Yes Nick, do it. I am especially happy about the idea because my pal in Berlin is retiring on 31 October and then breezing off to SE Asia for a year with his OH leaving poor little me without a security adviser!

#13

I remember when I used to get 50 a day, I've had 50 already today!

#14

We use gmail Nick - the worst spam by far is to my hubbys AutoEntrepreneur email - about 50 a day!

Good idea about an internet security post - can we make that a permanently sticky one in the computercorner?

#15

I switched to Gmail years ago as their spam filters are excellent, might be worth looking at.

Unfortunately Suzanne, getting email addresses has become trivially simple, as so many sites on the web have been hacked or taken, and all their details are out there. It's getting to the point now, where I will only deal with the big sites , and even they are not perfect.

I completely agree that FB and LinkedIn do not take their customers security seriously, and seem to think , well it's a free service so we can do what we want with your data. I do think over time, this will come to bite them if they are not careful.

A friend of mine had his Twitter account broken recently, and he was sending out perfect looking emails, that were clickjacks, they are getting better and more devious.

I use Lastpass, and constantly cycle my passwords - once a month - on all my accounts so that even if someone hacks FB and gets my password, it will only be for a short time, or until I discover it. Every password I have is different, so getting one, does not compromise the others.

It is I completely agree a PITA, and it is without doubt getting worse by the day. Linux and OSX make your life safer without a doubt, but they can only do so much, no computer operating system is fool proof.

Perhaps I might start a thread on Internet security , and everyone on the forum, can jump in and add hints and tips on what they have found helps them keep secure.

#16

I have been getting mail supposedly from my daughter and grandson they go directly to the bin it is getting annoying now

#17

I get so many and I think a few others on SFN do that I am very, very cautious. I have left LinkedIn, which is leaky, and find myself back on time and time again. So somebody has nabbed my i.d. and keeps going back in although I have informed them and asked to be off permanently. Even direct into LinkedIn is dubious. Academics consider it virtually the Nirvana of communication but are now becoming wary and gradually leaving it. FB has made a huge error by making email addresses easily available to begin with. So bug**r that, I still use but may eventually leave. The 'blocked messages' messages I have suspected have been forwarded to a secure address I have, a university one with almost foolproof filters and dealt with. It is getting nasty. My OH and I depend on online work availability but if anything scuppers us we are the ones who will be irretrievably sunk...