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sam christie
United Kingdom
3101 Posts |
 Posted - 22/08/2015 : 17:15:05
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I hope this is correct under the 'General Information' heading.
I have had a couple of odd emails recently which appear to be from members but are fake.
I think the idea is to trick the recipient into responding or clicking on a link to a dodgy website. One was marked "You r email address has been hacked" (sic).
Another member has just warned me that he has received something similar apparently from my email address but it was not from me.
I have no idea how this has happened or what can be done about it other than to say -BEWARE!
Sam |
Edited by - sam christie on 22/08/2015 17:16:35 |
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Keith Durston
United Kingdom
711 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2015 : 18:42:41
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Sam,
I received one from you but have deleted it. Fortunately it was pretty obvious to me that it wasn't you who had sent it as the message made no sense. I believe that if your mailbox has been hacked the best thing to do is to change your password but those more internet savvy (Nick maybe?) might know better.
Keith |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3101 Posts |
Posted - 22/08/2015 : 20:01:17
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Thanks Keith.
So far as I am aware, the emails are purely to and from members of the Forum. None of my other contacts has been affected. I think the message "You r email address has been hacked" is designed to produce a panic response to click on the link 'they' provide.
My password is so complicated I cannot see any way it could have been compromised but I guess it will do no harm to change it at once.
Has anyone else been affected by anything like this?
Sam |
Edited by - sam christie on 22/08/2015 20:11:34 |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3374 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 00:16:57
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Sam
What appears to be happening is some moron is taking the first part of an email address (up to the @), adding a different client name, gmail.com instead of hotmail.com for example (an account that probably does not exist), then sends someone whose email address he knows an email which superficially looks to have come from a member of this forum. I have had several. So far they all contain links that once again look OK but are in fact redirected to some other site. I strongly suggest you do not click on any link however persuasive the text seems to be.
Nick
Webmaster |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3101 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 00:50:04
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Thanks Nick.Your point is well made.If I receive any more they will also be deleted at once.
Sam |
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Max Headroom
United Kingdom
292 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 08:05:28
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I have recently received emails NOT from anyone here but from others that I know - these have been similar to those reported here; the ones to me were from people I know but contained a link to some site and nothing else.
These were deleted, and when I contacted the person they were from, they were not even aware an email had been sent!
________________________________________________________________________
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
________________________________________________________________________
Inside every older person is a younger person – wondering what the hell happened.
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
568 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 08:39:39
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| I too have received an e mail from Sam. Quickly deleted when I saw it was nothing to do with Triple-M. |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3101 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 09:54:29
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Ray, I do not have a record of your email address. Have we ever exchanged emails? I am trying to see if the problem has arisen because my email address has simply been picked up from a 'for sale' ad or my email account has actually been accessed/hacked.
So far as I know only Forum members have been affected and I wonder if somewhere in the Triple-M context there is some form of list of members which has been compromised. Email contacts I have outside the Triple-M Forum have not mentioned a problem.
Sam |
Edited by - sam christie on 23/08/2015 10:12:05 |
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lordrob
Belgium
226 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 14:05:22
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I also received such mails, recently from Sam as described and before I received such mails from Ron Grant, Alan Whitham and Guy Maathuis !
Obviously direct deleted after enquiring by the sender.
Cheers,
Roby
lordrob |
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Ray Masters
United Kingdom
568 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 15:27:01
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| Sam. As far as I can recall we have never had any email contact with each other. From what lordrob has written it would seem that a number of addresses have been hacked . |
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sam christie
United Kingdom
3101 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 16:01:31
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While I think a change of email account password is a good idea I still feel (I am no expert) the malefactor has only a list of Forum members email addresses but (so far as I can see) has not actually taken control of or entered into anyone's email account.
Is it possible an outsider has somehow simply copied a list of email addresses of members? Has such a list ever been circulated ?
Sam |
Edited by - sam christie on 23/08/2015 16:07:38 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3243 Posts |
Posted - 23/08/2015 : 23:08:57
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Sam et al,
Having worked in the computer industry for over 45 years, I can tell you it is not a difficult task to copy email addresses. All it requires is for someone to monitor a particular address (like this server) and capture email address. They likely have not hacked into your personal system, although that is always possible if you have simple passwords and leave your computer on all the time.
Since the SMTP email protocols do not force specific email addresses, it is simple for anyone to create an email with whatever email address they choose. This is the single biggest failing of SMTP internet mail. Other options used to exist, but the world chose to use the simplest to implement (read "least secure").
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3374 Posts |
Posted - 24/08/2015 : 12:43:44
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Sam
I think the clever part of this attempt is recognising the fact that most of us do not pay attention to the provider in the email address, i.e. the bit after the @. I received an email the looked almost the same a Sam's (at least the first part up to the @ was identical). It was addressed to me correctly and the text used my name. The giveaway was the the link itself, had it been "veryinterestingwebsite.com" I would probably have taken a look by typing in the the website address myself (not clicking on the link). In this case it began with a genuine website address with a chunk added to the end - "veryinterestingwebsite.com?something=xyz12345pqrs". The stuff after the ? has the effect of redirecting the visitor to some other website that is not connected with the genuine one.
So if you receive an email containing a link with no real explanation, double check ALL of the email address of the sender. If you have any doubts about a link, try googling the site first, if that looks OK and you want to try the link, always type the link yourself rather than click on the link.
Nick
Webmaster |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3374 Posts |
Posted - 26/08/2015 : 12:53:58
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Here is an example, I received it this morning:
From: Mikedatum (mikedatum@mikoru.com)
Sent: Wed 8/26/15 11:41 AM
To: Nick Feakes (nfeakes@hotmail.com)
Greetings Nick
http://smileplumb.com/match.php?thick=kxu96qkkt6gv0 (I have changed the link a bit)
The part before the @ is correct (presumably lifted from the forum) but the part after the @ is not. There is no message, only the link.
So if you receive anything like this, do not click on the link or reply to the email or they will have your email address.
A sign of the sort of morons who frequent the web I'm afraid. I am sure they were good children who simply fell in with the wrong crowd!
Nick
Webmaster |
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Mike the M
United Kingdom
481 Posts |
Posted - 26/08/2015 : 21:49:41
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Yes it was my email that had been corrupted!
I have now changed the password, so all looks OK again and I do not receive "Funny" items in the test, and I can send pictures again!
Cheers,
Mike Dalby |
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