Scam Detectives » Safe Shopping

VERY convincing virus email/invoice from “YesAsia.com”

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:08:46 +0000

Another very clever social engineering scam attempting to trick you into downloading a virus to your computer.

You’ll see that the email uses my full name, but the URL is spoofed. The actual url linked to is “yesasia-payment-service.com/[removed]” which attempts to download a zip file apparently containing your invoice.

It’s a clever one, and I’m afraid that lots of people will be taken in by it.

If you receive any order confirmation for an order you haven’t placed, DO NOT click on the link, but check with your credit card provider to make sure you haven’t been a victim of online fraud. Chances are you haven’t, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Littlewoods Phishing email

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:11:29 +0000

We received an unusual email today which is a twist on the usual “there’s a problem with your bank account” phishing attack.

This one targets online shopping accounts and will try and trick you into logging on to a fake web shop so the fraudsters can buy goods on your credit card.

The link in the email leads to a very plausible copy of the Littlewoods website:

The usual rule applies:

NEVER click on a link in an email that asks you to log into ANY online account, be it Twitter, Facebook, your bank or an online shop

Happy New Year, and let’s make 2011 a ripoff free year!

Scam Detectives Investigates – Fake shoe sellers

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:37:00 +0000

MBT refuse to call their footwear shoes. In fact, they brand their product the “anti-shoe”. MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) describe the health benefits of their footwear in depth on their official website and provide links to several studies which demonstrate those benefits.

Another fake web shop

We were contacted by a reader this morning who had come across a website selling MBT footwear and she thought it was a fake. She was right.

www.ukmbt.com is one of many website purporting to sell MBT footwear at discount prices. At first glance, everything looks legitimate and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a perfectly legitimate website. In fact, I had to look very hard to find the red flags that identify it as a fake.

The telltale signs

The URL (web address) is very similar to that of the genuine site and the imagery used is taken directly from that website.
The prices are VERY low – remember the golden rule – If it seems too good to be true, it probably is…
The site displays the McAfee SECURE logo, but it doesn’t link through to the usual report from McAfee which would confirm that they had endorsed the security of the website
There are links in the footer to other online stores unrelated to MBT – Why would a genuine store send traffic to unrelated websites?
The contact page gives a Hotmail email address for customer service – I can’t think of one genuine online store that uses Hotmail as an email contact
The “Privacy” page doesn’t contain a privacy policy
The help page contains an address for a company in China, with a different, unrelated Hotmail email address for contact
The public “whois” database lists and address in China, whilst MBT’s head office is based in Switzerland
Upon making a purchase, you are directed to an insecure payment processing page which is badly worded and contains fabricated “trust” seals from Trustwave, GeoTrust, the Safe Shopping Network and the US Better Business Bureau

In short, the website is either selling counterfeit MBT products, or more likely, is simply harvesting credit card details with the intention of clearing out your account.

Other fake websites selling MBT products include (but are not limited to):

www.mbtshoessale.co.uk
www.eurluxury.com
www.mbt2you.com
www.buy-mbtshoes.com
www.unbootssale.com
www.mbt-lami.com
www.discountmbt.com
www.salembt.com
www.mbtag.com

How can I buy MBT products safely?

The MBT official website states: “Here at MBT, we want to ensure that you are fitted correctly in order to get the full benefits from the technology in the sole. We therefore do not sell our product online, but instead ensure that our retailers are trained on a regular basis to provide an individual fitting service for you and show you how to stand and walk best in MBTs.”

You can find your local official MBT stockist here

General tips for safe online shopping

Wherever possible, use a recognised retailer that specialises in supplying your chosen goods. It may be worth spending a few extra pounds for the peace of mind.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. A website offering goods at massive discounts well below those of other suppliers should ring alarm bells.

Search for reviews to check other customers experiences. Google “shop name AND reviews” and you’ll soon find out if they deliver or not!

Look for offline contact details such as a telephone number and address. By law website owners have to give you this information, and if it’s not there, you should be suspicious. Confirm the details by giving them a call to ask a question, and search for the address on Google to check it exists.

Check that the site has told you exactly how much you will be paying. Does the price include VAT and all delivery charges?

Check the site’s privacy, terms of use and delivery/returns policies to find out how your personal info will be used, and how the site will deal with faulty or damaged goods.

Make sure the site accepts payment by credit card or via a reputable payment processor like Paypal. This will give you some protection if the transaction goes wrong and you don’t get your stuff.

Don’t use wire transfer services such as Western Union or Moneygram to pay for goods. They’re often used by scammers as once the money is picked up it’s virtually impossible to trace.

Before you enter your credit card details, make sure that you’re on a secure, encrypted page. You can tell if a page is secure by looking for the letters https:// in your browser’s address bar, and looking for the padlock symbol in the address bar and at the bottom of your browser window. If you don’t see ALL of these things, your credit card details will not be secure and could be intercepted. Find another shop!

Trust your instincts. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or simply “feels wrong” then walk away and buy from somewhere else!

Blog Disclosure: We have not been paid for this article in cash, credit or in kind by MBT or any other party.

Scammers get smarter every day – Scam emails get personal

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:46:43 +0000

We were very concerned this morning at Scam Detectives HQ when we received another round of “Facebook Password Confirmation” emails (containing a nasty Trojan to harvest your passwords/login details). Whilst we’ve seen them before, these were slightly different. They were actually addressed to us by name.

Why is this such a concern?

It’s always been one of the most glaring red flags with virus/scam/phishing emails. The email would be addressed to “Dear Facebook User”, “Dear Online Banking Customer”, “Dear Valued Member”. This immediately betrayed the email for what it was, a mass mailing designed to trick as many users as possible.

By addressing the email to you personally, scammers have removed this first line of defence and made it that little bit harder to spot a scam.

How did they get my name?

They didn’t. What they have done is to develop a mail merge script that takes everything before the “@” sign in your email address and insert it into the body of the email so it appears that it is personal to you.

We’ve had emails this morning addressed to “Dear Charles” (to charles@scam…..co.uk) but we’ve also had them to “Dear Sales” (to Sales@clear…co.uk) & “Dear Info”(to Info@scam….co.uk).

What can I do about it?

You now need to be even more vigilant.

Never click on a link in an email that asks you to log in to your account
Never open attachments contained in an email that purports to come from an organisation with which you have a relationship, including your bank, Paypal, Facebook or anyone else for that matter
Never click on a link that says you’ve received an e-card, or that tells you that your photo has been posted online
Always report such emails to the organisation they’re posing as by sending a copy to “spoof@YOURBANK.com

Be careful out there!

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Scam Detectives Live! – Online chat with BT Tradespace & Paypal

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:44:11 +0000

We were pleased to be invited to take part in a live chat by BT Tradespace this lunchtime, along with the lovely Aline from Paypal.

We talked about safe online shopping, fake designer goods, keeping your kids safe online, viruses & malware and “phishing” scams.

The full transcript is below:

Stay safe online

If there’s anything you’d like to know that we didn’t cover in the live chat, please feel free to drop us a line

Scam-Detectives saves man from dodgy iPhone seller

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:24:13 +0000

I had a call from a client this afternoon. He’d broken his iPhone, and was looking for a good deal on a replacement. Unfortunately, he still has 12 months to run on his current mobile contract, and doesn’t want to commit to another bill, so he had to look for unlocked ones. Amazon has the 16GB 3GS in white for £587.99 but that was a bit on the rich side for him.

He called me because he’d found one for $325 (£212.00) but he wasn’t 100% confident about ordering it.

I checked out the site and immediately called him back to tell him not to touch it with a bargepole.

Why?

The domain name was a free subdomain with no “whois” info available
On loading the website, it spawned several popups for poker and ‘adult orientated’ websites
There was no company logo or header on the site
The website had only 2 products, both iphones and both vastly underpriced
The website had no contact details beyond an anonymous “contact” form – no address, no telephone number, no company name, nothing.
The order form required credit card details yet was not encrypted – although it did try to fake encryption by forcing a small padlock image to appear in the address bar
There’s loads more “red flags” I could go on about, but I really don’t need to carry on!

When you’re looking for a great deal on electronics, or any other item for that matter, you really need to be sure that the company you’re buying from is legit. Check out our hints for safe shopping and above all remember 2 things:

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is and Use your instincts – If something just doesn’t feel right, walk away.
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We now have a great range of PC and Home Security products available in the Scam Detectives Security Supplies online store (powered by Amazon).

Protecting your older relatives from online fraud

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:55:45 +0000

If you’re under the age of 40, then the chances are you’ve grown up using computers at school, college, university and in your job.

To your parents and grandparents however, whilst the Internet is a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and relatives, it can still be a daunting task to know how to stay safe online.

If you have older relatives who have recently gotten their first computer, or just started out in the online world, then we have some tips to help you to help them stay safe online.

1) Help them set up their computer. Ensure that all security updates are actioned, that their firewall is switched on and that their anti-virus software is set to automatically update on a regular basis (preferably daily).
2) Explain to them that absolutely anyone can publish their opinions online as fact and that they shouldn’t put absolute faith in the information they read online.
3) Tell them that they should only open email attachments from people that they know and trust, as they could contain viruses. They may find it hard to understand that a friendly looking e-card from a stranger could be a technical timebomb.
4) Point them in the direction of this website so that they can learn more about email scams, phishing, advance fee fraud, lottery scams and safe online shopping.
5) Remind them that the old saying “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is” is even more applicable online than in the “real world”.

Above all, let them know that you’re available to answer any questions or offer help and advice if they need it, and if they’re not sure about something, they should ask.

We now have a great range of PC and Home Security products available in the Scam Detectives Security Supplies online store (powered by Amazon).

Overpayment Scams

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:13:46 +0000

We have a number of web design clients in the Hotel and Leisure industry. A common scam that is reported to us by these clients is the “overpayment” scam.

This is where a potential holidaymaker contacts the hotel by email and offers to book a number of rooms for a large party. They are generally coming from overseas and want to know the total so that they can send a cheque to secure the booking.

When the cheque arrives, it is for an amount far in excess of the actual cost of the booking. When the hotelier contacts the customer to let them know of the mistake, they are told that the cheque has been issued for the total cost of the holiday, including flights. To “avoid the hassle” of the customer issuing another cheque, the hotelier is asked to bank the cheque and send the remainder of the money to a “travel agent” via Western Union Money Transfer to pay for the flights.

So what’s the scam?

The cheque is stolen or forged. Whilst it will probably clear into the account, as soon as the bank discover the fraud they will reclaim the money from your account, leaving you out of pocket and having to answer a lot of questions about the fraudulent cheque that you’ve “laundered” through your account.

How do I avoid it?

Be wary of overseas enquiries, especially if the customer doesn’t seem to care about the price of the booking. Ideally, you should ask for a deposit by credit card to secure the booking, with the balance payable in cash on arrival. Then you should do a “code 10″ authorisation with your credit card merchant to ensure that the card is not stolen. If you do receive a cheque that is for more money than the booking, return the cheque to the customer and ask them to send you one for the correct amount.

Does this only apply to hoteliers?

No. We’ve also had overpayment scams reported by advertisers on Craigslist, Ebay, Gumtree and many other advertising venues targetting sellers of all sorts of products and services. In these instances, the sellers have been asked to send the excess money to a “shipping agent” or other such third party. Whatever the premise, the scam is the same.

We now have a great range of PC and Home Security products available in the Scam Detectives Security Supplies online store (powered by Amazon).