Post by: RHPConsult on August 26, 2003, 01:10:16 PM
I think I received one such, yesterday.
Under the heading Customer Order Nr. 12345-756-89 was a long, detailed and reasonably well-constructed "confirmation of an order" from some (hypothetical) woman in NJ for Mallory’s Marvelous Muffins to be delivered to someone in Whipstich, AK . . . or somesuch. No money is requested, after all this is just a “confirmation”.
Some muffins! 2lbs for $29! Shipping = $8
It very closely resembles the kind of transaction confirmation one receives from any legitimate internet transaction.
It cries out, naturally, for correction: y’know Person C responds with the “helpful” information that Person A’s order for Person B has been mistakenly sent to “C”. After all, we wouldn't want someone failing to receive their celebratory muffins.
And, b-I-n-g-o, they’ve got you on their list of confirmed recipients/addressees.
Oh yes, it has an .exe file attached
Post by: Bruce_F on August 26, 2003, 01:20:23 PM
The other day, I wondered why more spam messages were getting through my Mail filter than usual. I checked and discovered that my spam filter wasn't even present! The rules I had in place to send spam to the trash were gone!
Oh well... I thought.
Now I have an even more strict rule set in place. If the sender is NOT in my address book, the message goes to the trash. I must scan the list to be sure I don't delete ligitimate messages, but it sure is working well.
Post by: ljocampo on August 26, 2003, 01:38:30 PM
http://www.spamgourmet.com
no muffin pun intended
Post by: Paddy on August 26, 2003, 04:19:01 PM
That's my suspicion, anyway. Have a closer look at the email, if you still have it. It may yield further clues. Or it really might be some diabolical new twist, though I doubt it. Mallory's Marvelous Muffins really exists, BTW. http://www.muffinlady.com/ - and they really don't look like the sort of company that has resorted to spamming to get more customers.
Post by: Gary S on August 26, 2003, 06:22:43 PM
responding?
I delete all mine at the server but I'm still getting more and haven't responded. I got 43 this morning and 14 just now.
Post by: Paddy on August 26, 2003, 10:08:00 PM
See:
http://www.computerbytesman.com/privacy/cookleak.htm and
http://www.delux.com/articles/HTMLmail.html
But I have to ask...how did you end up getting so much spam? Is your email addy readily available somewhere online? I think if I was getting as much as you seem to be getting, I'd seriously consider changing my email address! I saw an interesting thing at Comcast the other day (which may only apply to Comcast - not sure how other companies do it). In their user forums, one user strongly recommended never actually using your primary account for email (except with Comcast) - because you cannot easily change your primary account ID, while it is easy to change any of your secondary account ID's. A little too late for me, but it's a good suggestion. I don't know if Charter will allow you to change your email address, but it's the best way I know of starting over "spam-less". Then, NEVER, EVER sign up for anything (look for all the fine print at the bottom of order pages when doing online buying - make sure those "send me special offer emails from your affiliates" boxes are all UNCHECKED! Note- most reputable online retailers like Amazon don't sell their lists - I haven't had any problem with spam that I can trace to dealing with the "big guys".), make sure any place your email addy is online that it is protected by any of the various methods of encoding/Javascript etc., and that anywhere else you post, your email address is not readily available.
Post by: RHPConsult on August 26, 2003, 10:34:01 PM
I don't think so, but I'm surely not sure.
Paddy
I'm clueless as to how to decipher headers. Have never figgered 'em out.
What you say makes great sense, however.
The last time I got such a message it was from the CEO of a multi-billion dollar enterprize. So, I wrote him and quickly got grateful word from his secretary that they had found the infection.
The sender of "the order" was simply email@aol.com. Looked fishy to me, but since I failed to search out those marvy muffins, I misinterpreted the "cause"
I'll copy the header, if that's OK with you (and "virus-free") and then e-mail it only to you. If you think it useful for me to notify someone - - whose identity, presently, I can't determine why I'm in his/her address book - - I'll be happy to do so.
Is it "safe" for you to help me in this circumstance?
Post by: krissel on August 26, 2003, 10:38:16 PM
I also noticed the "company" is located in Basking Ridge, NJ which is the town next to mine. Hmm, I wonder if they are breaking any residential or food handling codes by selling out of their house? (I looked up the address in Mapquest and saw it is a residential neighborhood.)
Post by: RHPConsult on August 26, 2003, 11:00:13 PM
Post by: Paddy on August 26, 2003, 11:38:07 PM
If there is an email address for the person who ordered the muffins in the body of the email itself, then you might want to send her an email, or ask Mallory's to do so (they should be able to trace it via the order number), since the customer is no doubt the source of the virus. Or you could just ignore it, since the person is unknown to you (and why give a stranger with a virus your email addy??
)As to how you got into this person's email address book...it could be something like one of those mass-mailed funny stories or hoaxes. A lot of people don't send things to an undisclosed list of recipients - and these things that keep getting forwarded can become quite a repository of email addys - of people several times "removed" from you. It's actually one of my pet peeves, as it makes MY email address less secure when people do this.
Post by: ljocampo on August 26, 2003, 11:38:52 PM
http://spamgourmet.com
Post by: Gary S on August 27, 2003, 11:38:24 AM
My email address is private on all the sites I visit, that I know of, even TS.
I've thought of changing it.
Post by: Mayo on August 27, 2003, 12:54:05 PM
As far as protecting your e-mail address, I heartily endorse the services of PO Box.com
I have used their services for years and find it invaluable for managing my e-mail. It's simple to create and change e-mail addresses, and no one will ever know your ISP e-mail address, unless you tell them, of course. $15/year for up to three e-mail addresses. A Real Deal...
Post by: Gary S on August 27, 2003, 03:57:47 PM
I've never registered a domain name. I'll check your link out.
Post by: RHPConsult on August 27, 2003, 06:22:05 PM
So I looked at the delicious Mallory's web site and then sent along the information (order number, customer name and phone number) asking that they contact her with an alert re: the possible "infection" she's passing around . . . well, I didn't quite put it that way.
One more curiosity. The e-addresses of both cusstomer and recipient (in NJ and TN) were identical . . . and located in earthlink. Does that suggest anything about sources . . . of anything?
So whatever now happens is all your fault.
Post by: Paddy on August 27, 2003, 06:54:58 PM
Very frustrating. Makes me think twice about even turning either of the PC's on these days - even though I don't EVER receive any email on them (except stuff I send myself for whatever reason).
Post by: krissel on August 29, 2003, 12:34:47 AM
QUOTE(RHPConsult @ Aug 27 2003, 12:00 AM)
If they have a Day-Old Department, Kris, you outta drop by to see what the "seconds" taste like!
Even at half price the day old muffins would be too pricey for me.
(fattening, too)
