The scammers of the world keep coming up with more innovative ways to trick people. I received a number of emails today the contents of which were similar to this:
Amazon.com logo your account
Thanks for your order, xxx@yyyyy-yyyy.com
Did you know you can view and edit your orders online, 24 hours a day? Visit Your Account.
Order Information:
E-mail Address: xxx@yyyyy-yyyy.com
Order Grand Total: $ 41.99
Earn 3% rewards on your Amazon.com orders with the Amazon Visa Card. Learn More
Order Summary:
Details:
Order #: D25-6587444-2958008
Subtotal of items: $ 66.99
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Total before tax: $ 32.99
Sales Tax: $ 0.00
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Total for this Order: $ 75.99
The following item was ordered:
Click here and see items, Price: $ 80.99
By: Click here
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
The charge for this order will appear on your credit card statement from the merchant 'AMZN Payment Services.'
You can review your orders in Your Account. If you've explored the links on that page but still have a question, please visit our online Help Department.
Please note: This e-mail was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.
Thanks again for shopping with us.
Amazon.com
Earth's Biggest Selection
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It looks quite genuine when it appears on the email. Even the senders address "(digital-no-reply@amazon.com)" looks quite genuine.
What set me on alert was the fact that the email I received it on is not the account I have registered with Amazon. A closer look at the numbers shows they don't add up - whether this was a part of scam - to get people to follow the links to correct the "wrong" order or simply a slip-up is uncertain.
I did go and check my Amazon accounts just in case (they were clear, with no unknown orders), but it could trap the unwary, so beware.
ps This site gives a good image of the spam mail and a more technical explanation.
3 comments:
The email client (i.e. the program one reads email in) I use, Sylpheed protects you from these.
If you click on the link a pop up Window appears saying:
"Fake URL warning. The real URL (http://raceobject.ru:8080/index.php?pid=14) is different from
the apparent URL (http://www.amazon.com."
It does give you an option to open it anyway, but there is rarely any reason to.
looks like there will be no end to internet related scams.
Thanks Graeme. I use web based email, I suppose it can be configured with an email client, but I'm not sure how to do it.
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