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story category Earthlink Scam Won't Die
Continues to circulate with variations
(old news - 01:28PM Thursday Dec 11 2003)
tags: security · trouble
Earthlink users continue to be the targets of scam support e-mails. The now all-too-common scam, which has been circulating in one form or another for more than a year, informs users their account info is out-of-date and requests credit card number and account data. As users in our Earthlink forum discuss, the scam keeps popping up, with the wording only slightly re-arranged:



The scam was also a hot topic of discussion back in November. Users who receive the scam e-mail should forward it on to Fraud@Earthlink.net. According to the Gartner group, more than 7 million people became victims of identity theft between May 2002 and April 2003 - a large part of them because of phishing scams like this one, now made potentially more dangerous by the Internet Explorer vulnerability we mentioned earlier today.

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Forums » Earthlink Scam Won't Die
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Post a:

David
No,there is another.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL
clubs:

Be careful earthlink users

The fact it looks real and smells real and due to the new IE vulnerability they are looking for you..

CO_Chris
Premium
join:2001-08-28
Broomfield, CO
·Comcast
·Earthlink Cable Mo..
·Comcast Digital Vo..

Got this about a month ago

Click for full size
This funny thing here is that i was not on earthlink any more but my email address was still active. oh well
--
Super Bowl Bound The Houston TEXANS. Well we will have the Super Bowl here this year Anyway

CO_Chris
Premium
join:2001-08-28
Broomfield, CO

Re: Got this about a month ago

sorry look at where it came from. @netscape.net email addy

korym
Go Wisp's
ExMod 1999-03
join:1999-12-23
Richmond, VA
clubs:

Wow...

I could see how people might get confused. It certainly looks like an Earthlink-authorized message. Granted, we're all told not to send CC info or personal info and that Earthlink, AOL, etc. will never ask for this info but there are people out there who simply don't think of that.
--
Find or list a wireless Internet Service Provider on the WISP Directory!

arden625

join:2001-07-10
Haledon, NJ

Only once

I only got it once back in November and I forgot to forward it to the right e-mail address and just deleted it. I guess I'm lucky it never showed in my inbox again.

richk_1957
If ..Then..Else
Premium
join:2001-04-11
Minas Tirith

I got it late last year...

...the same day that I got the invoice from Earthlink that my credit card had been successfully billed. I checked my credit card account & sure enough, the monthly fee was debited, so I just deleted it the message.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Re: I got it late last year...

It scares me knowing how many people would not have the common sense to do what you did......

Dude
What Happens When I Do This
Premium
join:2000-11-20
Chicago, IL
clubs:
·BroadVoice

Re: I got it late last year...

man how hard is it for an ISP to send en email message to all it users sting that they will never ask for billing or contact info via email. Kinda like how MSN messenger has that warning stating thr same
--
A computer without Microsoft is like a chocolate cake without mustard.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Re: I got it late last year...

There's many people out there who spend an hour figuring out that their mouse doesn't work because it came unplugged....I think even if there's warnings issued, there's just a certain percentage of people who will always fall for this stuff.....

jdmurray
Premium
join:2001-03-02
Huntington Beach, CA
clubs:

Re: I got it late last year...

And these scams and hoaxes continue to circulate because thanks to these people they continue to prove successful forms of social engineering.

woody7
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA
·EarthLink
·DSL EXTREME

Re: I got it late last year...

So did I, and until an example of someone that is caught is made it will continue...............but how many times do you tell someone not to give info like that out? Some people need to wise up...........just my thoughts
--
Bloome

biv
Bbr Biv
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-26
Baltimore, MD
·Verizon Online DSL

said by Dude See Profile:
man how hard is it for an ISP to send en email message to all it users sting that they will never ask for billing or contact info via email. Kinda like how MSN messenger has that warning stating thr same

They have done that. They've also posted warnings on their start page periodically.
--
Children make nice pets!
Dirtyping

join:2001-10-30
West Haverstraw, NY

Re: I got it late last year...

That looks very real and I can see how ppl can be fooled. I did get a notice from them that my card expired but expected it since it in fact did. I went to their website directly and updated.

If a fake had come a month ago I could have very well easily clicked on it especially if the url in the IE address bar matched Earthlinks site.

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..

Re: I got it late last year...

said by Dirtyping See Profile:
If a fake had come a month ago I could have very well easily clicked on it especially if the url in the IE address bar matched Earthlinks site.
Are you aware of the latest IE exploit that's discussed on this site's front page ?? Take a look... For a computer-newbie, I can see how they'd be fooled...
--
WTB: A good .sig. Must be reliable, in good condition, and affordable.

richk_1957
If ..Then..Else
Premium
join:2001-04-11
Minas Tirith

The truth

said by Karl Bode See Profile:
It scares me knowing how many people would not have the common sense to do what you did......

Unfortunately sense isn't common anymore

TransitMan
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-05
Dayton, OH
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Time Warner VOIP
·Earthlink TrueVoice

I, too, got one, but since I'm on ELK/Mindspring cable, billed from TW, I just trashed it.
If they really want to cancel my service because they don't have a valid, up to date card on file, then they will have to call me at my unlisted, unpublished number!
--
Move along, nothing here to see!!

BIGMIKE
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Westminster, CA


2 edits

Dumb People

that wy you never give your credit card number over the INTERNET dumb people, I will never have a credit card,
Hacker accesses 5.6 million credit cards

Monday, Visa and Mastercard said the hacker could look at as many as 2.2 million accounts after breaching the security system of a company that processes credit card transactions on behalf of merchants.

None of the original set of compromised Visa cards had been used fraudulently, Visa spokesman John Abrams said Monday. A Mastercard spokeswoman could not say whether any of their cards had been used fraudulently.

The affected accounts make up almost 1 percent of the 574 million Visa and Mastercard cards in the United States. Spokesmen for the two associations said Monday they promptly notified the banks that issued the affected cards.

Both card companies have zero-liability policies, which protect cardholders from responsibility for any unauthorized or fraudulent charges.

Citizens Bank, a financial institution serving the Northeast, shut down the accounts of 8,800 customers whose card numbers had been accessed after being notified by Mastercard last Friday, bank spokeswoman Pamela Crawley said Monday. All of those accounts were safe, she said.

Omega
Displaced Ohioan
Premium
join:2002-07-30
Cheyenne, WY
clubs:

Re: Dumb People

Good luck getting through life without a credit card.
--
"The doctor's X-Rayed my head and found nothing"

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX
·AT&T U-Verse

A real Earthlink message wouldn't request your...

credit card number over the Internet like this phishing
scam does. I once received a notice from Earthlink about
a credit card about to expire (it really was from them, and
it was about to expire); they requested that I log onto
my account from their home page (no link provided as in
the above scams) and update the information, or reply to
the email with the new expiration date. I have never
received this kind of scam email yet, probably because
since I changed my address to thwart spammers, I only
give it out to companies or people I can trust not to
spam me. I also don't use it for newsgroup posting, either.
--
"Kayura or Badamon, whichever you are, you should know that I will never give up this battle. By the will of the Ancient, I shall succeed!" - Shuten (Anubis) from the Ronin Warriors.

USAOwnz
RIP dadkins
Premium
join:2003-11-15
P.R.C.
clubs:

Re: A real Earthlink message wouldn't request your...

Man that does look real, to someone who doesn't know much it can prob effect them in a big way.
--
¡Viva la Revolución!

AlAboos

join:2002-04-03
Chicago, IL

you should be aware...

don't wanna be a smarty pants... but never try any links that takes you to any page asking you for info. always use the website. check your address bar... if you see ip addresses instead of web address then you're in the wrong place.

i've received an email stating "from ebay" asking me to update my info. clicked the link on the page. took me to a page that looked legit. an exact clone of ebay.com asking for:

name
address
social security
credit card number, pin and credit limit
bank account, routing number

one full page that i don't remember it all.

just imagine what these scumbags can do with all these info. i've heard thousands of ebay users filled the form up. be carefullllll.

sorry for "all lowercase" don't by crap from compusa. stupid keyboard.

cheers

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

tip

Your isp does not need your credit cards CVV or PIN to charge your card for your service. anything that asks for your PIN is a HUGE RED FLAG!. even your bank wont ask for your PIN.
--
You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..

An earlier version of this.....

An earlier version of this scam asked for *everything*, including bank account routing numbers, driver's license #, social security #, and even your mother's maiden name !!
--
WTB: A good .sig. Must be reliable, in good condition, and affordable.
bquiet

join:2001-01-11
Marietta, GA

Re: An earlier version of this.....

I forwarded one of these messges to Earthlink non-support (support@earthlink.com) about 14 months ago to report it to them. Guess what they won't accept email unless it is generated from their support system. Via phone they suggested i snail mail a copy.

Bring back Mindspring!!!!!!!!!!
aspen22

join:2003-12-09
Dexter, NM

Re: An earlier version of this.....

I recieve things like this in my inbox all the time. Luckily I realized that it was just a scam and immediately delete them. But I feel bad for anyone who falls for things like this. I know a lot of people who know very little about the internet. And if they recieved something like this then they would probably go ahead and respond to it.

Notmestl

join:2001-11-07
Ballwin, MO

Not just Earthlink

BTW - There are others out there, I get emails like this from "SBC/Yahoo" and just plain "Yahoo" at least once every other month or so. So, whomever your ISP is - Be careful!!!
--
Notme in STL
Forums » Earthlink Scam Won't Die


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