OT Attempted scam, maybe
araneldon
Posts: 712
A few days ago I got an email from a dating site saying that an account had been created there using my email address. At the end of said email was a link which led me to a page informing me that account deletion would cost 29 €. I have since then received several emails from there about incoming messages.
It's possible someone registered at the site using my email address by mistake; that kind of thing has happened several times. Then again it could also be a scam tactic employed by these kinds of websites.
What do you think?
Edited to add that charging money for account deletion is obviously fishy to say the least and probably illegal within the EU. I'm not going to name them publicly since that could be considered libel (...right?).
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Comments
I found a good way to check is to google " scam" and in this case maybe add "dating". You probably not the first person targeted, sometimes internet is surprisingly helpful.
I can see lots of hits for this site, but what I can't find is whether or not it's common to have an account appear there or at similar sites using your email when you haven't registered it yourself.
No, it isn't - especially if there is more than one of such. I don't know about your banking but if you didn't authorize any payments, or didn't sign some contract personally, they cannot take your money.
It's a scam.
NEVER follow a link in an unsolicited email, ever. All you do is confirm your email address to the bad guys.
Look up "phishing" and you will see what they are doing. Or follow simple protection behaviors, Such as those outlined here Protect Yourself from Phishing Scams
In the meantime report the emails a spam, set your spam filter to delete them and move on.
I suspected as much, however as I said this looks more like a case of someone using my email again. Still it probably would have been better to blacklist the sender and forget about the whole thing as they probably aren't going to remove my address from the system.
If they want to charge you to remove your email address from their system then it is a scam. It is akin to ransom-ware. No reputable legal site would do such a thing.
I think I got the same email. I didn't even bother to read it. NEVER respond. Don't even unsubscribe. Don't load the images.
Here's a tip: Set your email to NOT show images. They can track you by the images you view. When you get a reliable email from a trusted source you can click 'load images'.
I've been getting an email for months now telling me that an undelivered package is waiting for me at "wherever" and if I send $$ they will be happy to re-deliver it to my house. Obviously, I have ignored this email and don't have any intention of clicking any links in it, or sending money. Unfortunately, it won't go away. I hate spammers and hackers with a passion
I hate to Advise this but You should do a FULL AV scan if your AV supports malware, and a full malware scan as well with a trusted tool. Just opening that mail was enough to allow a silent backdoor as a fake cookie that installs other files to your PC. Anything you have done after that could have been tracked. Banking, Paypal or personal Info used for Identity theft can still be getting gathered at this time and you would never know it.
EDIT: Never open mail from any site you have not been to and registered on, or from people you did not give your email addy too.
I can never stress that strongly enough.
Also, if the email is from a site you do know, such as PayPal, always "hover" over any links in the email and check the status bar of your browser as it will tell you the "true" link and where it's going to actually send you. A lot of unsuspecting folks click on a link because they think it's going to take them where the link says, but often it's a spoofed page on a totally different server. Hovering the link will tell you whether it's really going there or not. I also tend to retype the the link, or copy/paste it, rather than click it in an email.
Of course with PayPal, if the email addresses you personally with your R/L name, then it's from PayPal. Any others are total scams.
Calm down people :D I have played with these computing devices for two decades or so and I am well aware of the fundamentals of online security among other things. I was really just curious as to whether this particular phenomenon is a deliberate scam or just someone failing to enter their email address correctly.
Thank you though, it's the thought that counts, and it's good to have these warnings repeated :)
Highly unlikely. I use Firefox and Thunderbird with NoScript and Adblock and all plugins except Flash disabled, and haven't had a single case of malware ever -- unless you want to count SecuROM and perhaps what Microsoft has inflicted upon the world.
I am however interested to learn more about these silent fake cookie backdoors.
There's another one that looks like UPS or some other delivery service is attempting to make a delivery but can't (for some unspecified reason), and they want your personal information to verify the delivery. I've gotten this one three or four times over the last year -- just block whatever email address they're currently using and move on.
Highly unlikely. I use Firefox and Thunderbird with NoScript and Adblock and all plugins except Flash disabled, and haven't had a single case of malware ever -- unless you want to count SecuROM and perhaps what Microsoft has inflicted upon the world.
I am however interested to learn more about these silent fake cookie backdoors.
Its not a Cookie so to speak but auto run code embedded in a Image most of the Time. The code executes at load time. I'm sure you knew that as a Long time PC user. I have also have had a PC from the old 1980's days.
Let me think about it, ok, I am done thinking about it.
Hypothetically speaking (because I wouldn't open that e-mail in the first place), if somebody ware to ask me money for deleting account I didnt make, I would probably be mildly amused by it, since simply not using the account would look like cheaper option, regardless whether it is a scam or mistake.
And if somebody asked me money for deleting account that I did make and that requires membership payments or subscription, I would probably be mildly amused by it as well, since simply not paying subscription would look like cheaper option.