8/5/03
Ach, overslept this morning... I’m going to have to do that file-tranny tonight. 1.31 gigs transfer over the instant messenger. (the six episodes of neverwhere... the first one timed out at 30 meg to go. D'oh!) Isketch is a hoot, but some of the topics are *hard*. I'm glad that you're allowed to skip the impossible ones. Even the comic-book ones had some that I'd never heard of... sixth-string run-twice books from the mid-70s. It's much simpler to draw "Hulk Smash" or "The Human Torch." I'd like to get a big goon squad to play online pictionary sometime. (Though I'm terrible at mouse-art... a wacom pad would make things a lot simpler.)
The morning constitutional and shower brought me some good energy, and I'm feeling pretty good.
Today is Danny's last Day of his summer courses, so we'll be able to get together Tomorrow and hang out a bit. It' since to be able to goof off with him so much now, because when the regular school season starts up, he'll be much more restricted in his visits.
Noticed a scammy-looking letter in my Box this morning, and I did a follow-up on it. It's upsetting because I think that this would fool a lot of people that don't know better. My rule of thumb is never follow links from inside an email regarding information updates, but instead to go to the main company site, and see if there are any banners or update questions there.
The Email I received (and have forwarded to Ebay for whatever legal action they would like to take part in) was -
The quantity and quality of e-mail scams that Internet users encounter continues to increase. Companies such as eBay, Amazon.com and AOL are primary targets because they have tens of millions of users that can become victims.
The most recent eBay scam sends a very official sounding message that states the following:
"eBay account management regrets to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended due to credit card verification problems. Your credit card failed to authorize and as a result, your account has been flagged. All further transactions with your account will be denied until this flag is removed."
It then attempts to get you to 'update' your account at a web site that asks for everything from your Social Security number, driver's license number, mother's maiden name, PayPal password and even your eBay password.
The quickest way to know that it is a scam is that it does not take you to eBay’s web site but rather a site that has eBay in the address, such as ebayvalidation.com or ebayupdate.com. (mine was ebayupdate.net)
Why would any company need you to provide personal information that it already has or has never asked before? The answer is, they would never ask.
No legitimate company will ever ask you to go to another web address to update account information and rarely will they use e-mail as a way to notify you of a problem.
Generally, notification of an account problem will occur when you attempt to log in to the companies web site not from a random e-mail message.
E-mail messages are not secure and can easily be viewed by others unless they are encrypted, so legitimate companies will never ask you to reply to a message with personal information.
The sophistication level of the scam artists is becoming very high as evidenced by the Discover card e-mail scam that actually used a web page from the Discover card web site to trick users into providing personal information.
In the future, a very clever way to see if an e-mail message is a scam is to use the power of a search engine such as Google. Put the first sentence of the body of the message in quotation marks in Google and see if there is any news about the message.
If you are really unsure about a message, always call the company that supposedly sent the message (and don’t use any phone numbers included in the message, just in case!). Get a customer service number from the company’s web site or from a billing statement.
eBay Help: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/problems-identity-theft.html
U.S. Government ID Theft Site: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/victim.htm
BBB ID Theft Site: http://www.newyork.bbb.org/identitytheft/newscams.html
Earth as art. I'm not far from #13 at all.
nine shockwave games, with kitties.
a year ago - pleasant dreams, headache passes, Bailey the puppy, puppet play!
2 years ago code, up late, F/X porn, coloring book, jack-in-the-box
3 years ago house to myself, foodies
update on ebay, 6:02pm
follow-up
Hello,
Thank you for writing regarding the email you received.
The message you received was not sent by eBay nor was it endorsed by us
in any way. By altering the reply-to address for this email, this
message may appear to have come from an eBay email address, when it
actually came from an external email address. This also means that
hitting the reply to button will send the message to the altered email
address in the reply to field. This process is commonly referred to as
"Spoofing".
Please rest assured that your account standing has not changed and that
your auctions have not been affected. We are currently investigating
the source of the email. Although we are unable to provide specific
information regarding the result of our investigation, let me assure you
that eBay does take these matters seriously. We are currently working
to have the web site members are directed to removed from the internet
and predict it will be removed shortly.
Please remember that eBay will never ask you for your private
information, including credit card information or password, in an email.
Also, eBay will never send you any request or solicitation from a
non-eBay email account, or provide a link outside of eBay for entering
credit card or other private information. If you ever need to give us
information, it is suggested that you go to the main website and follow
links there to the site map or any other place you may need to give
information. That way you are certain you are giving your information
to us and not a third party.
If you entered personal information such as your password, social
security number or credit card numbers into a Web site based on a
request from a spoofed email, you need to take immediate action to
protect your identity. We have developed an eBay Help page with valuable
information regarding the steps you should take to protect yourself.
Click here to go directly to the Help page:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/problems-identity-theft.html
or, to get to the "Protecting Your Identity" Help page from the eBay
site, please follow the steps outlined below:
1. Go to the eBay site and click on the Help tab at the top of any eBay
page
2. Under the "Topics" tab, click on "Safe Trading," which will open a
list of sub categories
3. Click on, "If Something Goes Wrong"
4. Click on "Protecting Your Identity" and review the information
provided
In the future if you receive a similar email, do not respond to it, and
visit the following link:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/new/reporting_spam.html
Here you will be given the steps to take when reporting spam messages to
eBay.
You may also report future messages impersonating eBay to us by
forwarding the message to spoof@ebay.com. When using this email address
please make sure that you use the forward function of your email program
with spoof@ebay.com in the to field. Please do not alter the subject
line, add text to your message, or forward the email as an attachment.
We believe that some members are receiving these messages because they
are using or have used their email address for their user ID. We
recommend that all members have a user ID. If your user ID is currently
your email address you may change it by following the instructions
below:
* Click on the site map link located at the top of any eBay page
* Scroll through the 'Services' section
* Click on 'Change my User ID' and follow the instructions on that page
All of your account information will be linked to the new ID including
your feedback profile. Additionally, you will have a set of "shades"
next to your new ID for 30 days to alert members to the change.
More information about account security can be found at the following
address:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/account_protection.html?ssPageName=CMDV:AB000
8
We apologize for any confusion this message may have created for you and
we appreciate your efforts in helping keep eBay a safe trading place.
Regards,
Ian
eBay SafeHarbor
Investigations Team
______________________________
eBay
Your Personal Trading Community (tm)
*******************************************
Important: eBay will not ask you for sensitive personal information
(such as your password, credit card and bank account numbers, Social
Security numbers, etc.) in an email. Learn more account protection tips
at:
http://www.pages.ebay.com/help/account_protection.html
_____________________________________________
For our latest announcements, please check:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
_____________________________________________
In order to better serve you, we'd like to occasionally
request feedback on our service. If you would rather
not participate, please click on the link below and send
us an email with the word "REMOVE" in the subject line.
If that does not work, please send an email to the
email address below. Your request will be processed
within 5 days.
mailto:cssremove@ebay.com
*******************************************
Ach, overslept this morning... I’m going to have to do that file-tranny tonight. 1.31 gigs transfer over the instant messenger. (the six episodes of neverwhere... the first one timed out at 30 meg to go. D'oh!) Isketch is a hoot, but some of the topics are *hard*. I'm glad that you're allowed to skip the impossible ones. Even the comic-book ones had some that I'd never heard of... sixth-string run-twice books from the mid-70s. It's much simpler to draw "Hulk Smash" or "The Human Torch." I'd like to get a big goon squad to play online pictionary sometime. (Though I'm terrible at mouse-art... a wacom pad would make things a lot simpler.)
The morning constitutional and shower brought me some good energy, and I'm feeling pretty good.
Today is Danny's last Day of his summer courses, so we'll be able to get together Tomorrow and hang out a bit. It' since to be able to goof off with him so much now, because when the regular school season starts up, he'll be much more restricted in his visits.
Noticed a scammy-looking letter in my Box this morning, and I did a follow-up on it. It's upsetting because I think that this would fool a lot of people that don't know better. My rule of thumb is never follow links from inside an email regarding information updates, but instead to go to the main company site, and see if there are any banners or update questions there.
The Email I received (and have forwarded to Ebay for whatever legal action they would like to take part in) was -
Dear eBay Member,
We at eBay are sorry to inform you that we are having problems with the billing information of your account. We would appreciate it if you would visit our website [eBay Billing Center] and fill out the proper information that we are needing to keep you as an eBay member.
If you think you have received this email as an error, please visit our website and fill out the necessary information. That way we can make sure that everything is up to date! Again here is the link to our website. eBay Billing Center
***Please Do Not Reply To This E-Mail As You Will Not Receive A Response***
Thank you
Accounts Management
As outlined in our User Agreement, eBay will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements. Visit our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have any questions.
Copyright 2003 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc
Announcements | Register | SafeHarbor (Rules & Safety) | Feedback Forum | About eBay
The quantity and quality of e-mail scams that Internet users encounter continues to increase. Companies such as eBay, Amazon.com and AOL are primary targets because they have tens of millions of users that can become victims.
The most recent eBay scam sends a very official sounding message that states the following:
"eBay account management regrets to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended due to credit card verification problems. Your credit card failed to authorize and as a result, your account has been flagged. All further transactions with your account will be denied until this flag is removed."
It then attempts to get you to 'update' your account at a web site that asks for everything from your Social Security number, driver's license number, mother's maiden name, PayPal password and even your eBay password.
The quickest way to know that it is a scam is that it does not take you to eBay’s web site but rather a site that has eBay in the address, such as ebayvalidation.com or ebayupdate.com. (mine was ebayupdate.net)
Why would any company need you to provide personal information that it already has or has never asked before? The answer is, they would never ask.
No legitimate company will ever ask you to go to another web address to update account information and rarely will they use e-mail as a way to notify you of a problem.
Generally, notification of an account problem will occur when you attempt to log in to the companies web site not from a random e-mail message.
E-mail messages are not secure and can easily be viewed by others unless they are encrypted, so legitimate companies will never ask you to reply to a message with personal information.
The sophistication level of the scam artists is becoming very high as evidenced by the Discover card e-mail scam that actually used a web page from the Discover card web site to trick users into providing personal information.
In the future, a very clever way to see if an e-mail message is a scam is to use the power of a search engine such as Google. Put the first sentence of the body of the message in quotation marks in Google and see if there is any news about the message.
If you are really unsure about a message, always call the company that supposedly sent the message (and don’t use any phone numbers included in the message, just in case!). Get a customer service number from the company’s web site or from a billing statement.
eBay Help: http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/problems-identity-theft.html
U.S. Government ID Theft Site: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/victim.htm
BBB ID Theft Site: http://www.newyork.bbb.org/identitytheft/newscams.html
Earth as art. I'm not far from #13 at all.
nine shockwave games, with kitties.
a year ago - pleasant dreams, headache passes, Bailey the puppy, puppet play!
2 years ago code, up late, F/X porn, coloring book, jack-in-the-box
3 years ago house to myself, foodies
update on ebay, 6:02pm
follow-up
Hello,
Thank you for writing regarding the email you received.
The message you received was not sent by eBay nor was it endorsed by us
in any way. By altering the reply-to address for this email, this
message may appear to have come from an eBay email address, when it
actually came from an external email address. This also means that
hitting the reply to button will send the message to the altered email
address in the reply to field. This process is commonly referred to as
"Spoofing".
Please rest assured that your account standing has not changed and that
your auctions have not been affected. We are currently investigating
the source of the email. Although we are unable to provide specific
information regarding the result of our investigation, let me assure you
that eBay does take these matters seriously. We are currently working
to have the web site members are directed to removed from the internet
and predict it will be removed shortly.
Please remember that eBay will never ask you for your private
information, including credit card information or password, in an email.
Also, eBay will never send you any request or solicitation from a
non-eBay email account, or provide a link outside of eBay for entering
credit card or other private information. If you ever need to give us
information, it is suggested that you go to the main website and follow
links there to the site map or any other place you may need to give
information. That way you are certain you are giving your information
to us and not a third party.
If you entered personal information such as your password, social
security number or credit card numbers into a Web site based on a
request from a spoofed email, you need to take immediate action to
protect your identity. We have developed an eBay Help page with valuable
information regarding the steps you should take to protect yourself.
Click here to go directly to the Help page:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/problems-identity-theft.html
or, to get to the "Protecting Your Identity" Help page from the eBay
site, please follow the steps outlined below:
1. Go to the eBay site and click on the Help tab at the top of any eBay
page
2. Under the "Topics" tab, click on "Safe Trading," which will open a
list of sub categories
3. Click on, "If Something Goes Wrong"
4. Click on "Protecting Your Identity" and review the information
provided
In the future if you receive a similar email, do not respond to it, and
visit the following link:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/new/reporting_spam.html
Here you will be given the steps to take when reporting spam messages to
eBay.
You may also report future messages impersonating eBay to us by
forwarding the message to spoof@ebay.com. When using this email address
please make sure that you use the forward function of your email program
with spoof@ebay.com in the to field. Please do not alter the subject
line, add text to your message, or forward the email as an attachment.
We believe that some members are receiving these messages because they
are using or have used their email address for their user ID. We
recommend that all members have a user ID. If your user ID is currently
your email address you may change it by following the instructions
below:
* Click on the site map link located at the top of any eBay page
* Scroll through the 'Services' section
* Click on 'Change my User ID' and follow the instructions on that page
All of your account information will be linked to the new ID including
your feedback profile. Additionally, you will have a set of "shades"
next to your new ID for 30 days to alert members to the change.
More information about account security can be found at the following
address:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/account_protection.html?ssPageName=CMDV:AB000
8
We apologize for any confusion this message may have created for you and
we appreciate your efforts in helping keep eBay a safe trading place.
Regards,
Ian
eBay SafeHarbor
Investigations Team
______________________________
eBay
Your Personal Trading Community (tm)
*******************************************
Important: eBay will not ask you for sensitive personal information
(such as your password, credit card and bank account numbers, Social
Security numbers, etc.) in an email. Learn more account protection tips
at:
http://www.pages.ebay.com/help/account_protection.html
_____________________________________________
For our latest announcements, please check:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
_____________________________________________
In order to better serve you, we'd like to occasionally
request feedback on our service. If you would rather
not participate, please click on the link below and send
us an email with the word "REMOVE" in the subject line.
If that does not work, please send an email to the
email address below. Your request will be processed
within 5 days.
mailto:cssremove@ebay.com
*******************************************
posted by Scottobear at
4:15:00 PM
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