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image Stupid Phishers image
Identity Theft
I've been seeing some phish emails lately go from sophisticated to just plain dumb. Here is an example of the email body for a PayPal phish (not modified in any way including formatting). No active hyperlink, and the only URL goes straight to the legit PayPal site. Its almost as if phishers have regressed, or more logically, there are new wannabe criminals who have heard of phishing but don't have the smarts on how to do it (or test it before flooding inboxes).


Dear Valued Paypal Member Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security measures. This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your PayPal account and to ensure a safe PayPal experience. We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. your online experience and renew. To verify your Information at this time, please visit our secure server webform by clicking the hyperlink below Go to https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-submit and login your Paypal account. Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the "Help" link in the footer of any page. PayPal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for using PayPal! The PayPal Team -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PayPal Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom as an electronic money institution. Update Your Account Update your Account now.. You can do this : Fund purchases directly from your checking or savings account, in addition to using credit cards Improve your reputation by letting others know you're a confirmed, Verified member of the PayPal community Send money to friends, family, and PayPal Personal Account holders Get Verified!
Posted on Monday, 02 April 2007 @ 18:34:52 UTC by Paul (3960 reads)
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Re: Stupid Phishers (Score: 1)
by Blair  on Friday, 06 April 2007 @ 19:46:55 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.geekstogo.com
I think it shows just how easy and accessible the tools used to create phishing scams have become. Phishing for Idiots. :p



Re: Stupid Phishers (Score: 1)
by DBT  on Friday, 06 April 2007 @ 21:52:33 UTC
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What is not mentioned in your piece, is the possibility that the phishers might have hijacked only part of a legitimate Paypal website page, and something that is entirely possible, something that I discovered in early March this year, as reported in The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/02/ebay_sign-on_hole/

So have you considered that this apparently unsophisticated email, might be of the same type? It is possible.

For the record, I reported my findings to Paypal, who in turn confirmed that the fake email that I submitted to them, did indeed lead to a hijacked login page. Not only that, but another, similar fake email circulating at the time, invited users to login, then click on a hijacked 'Help' button on their site, which in turn led to a fake page - not easily discernible. Either way, Paypal customers had, in logging in, already divulged sufficient sensitive information to put them at risk

In both instances, scammers had hijacked part of a perfectly legitimate site, something only the site owners can and should prevent.




Re: Stupid Phishers (Score: 1)
by blacklupine  on Monday, 02 April 2007 @ 19:48:57 UTC
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This could be more sinister then meets the eye such as an initial email to lull the recipient into a sense of false security with a follow up email containing the intended phishing links.

Or is it just me being paranoid!



Re: Stupid Phishers (Score: 1)
by pwillener  on Monday, 16 April 2007 @ 10:56:41 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www2.gol.com/users/pbw/jkeyb.htm
It is a common and very dangerous misconception to perceive spammers, scammers, and phishers as stupid. I do sometimes receive a phish where the scammer forgot to set the HTML attribute, and the message lists the raw HTML code.

Stupid spammer? Maybe. Or maybe not. Some recipients will think - ah, this is what I phish is? I will never fall for that! But then promptly click on the next one that looks real.

If a message from PayPal starts with 'Dear Valued Paypal Member' then everybody should immediately know that this is a fake; as PayPal does knows their customers' names.

I'm sure the scammers are very aware of that too, and I am equally sure that they are already working on ways to eliminate that hurdle...



Re: Stupid Phishers (Score: 1)
by closets  on Wednesday, 18 April 2007 @ 15:02:15 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message)
These idiots have been hitting my site lately. We need a way to fight internet criminals. The internet is a privilage that should be taken from those who readily abuse it.


 
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