I recieved an email. Scam?

[Normal Dude]

For reference, I have already sent it to Wamu to see what they say. But I figured I would share here and get your opinions.

I received this email:

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/8585/90061562ny8.th.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=90061562ny8.jpg)

I blacked out the member ID in the link and my email.

I have no Wamu account, and have never dealt with them, in any way. The misspellings, and odd grammar make me very suspicious. it just doesn't sound like something I woud get from a bank.

I did NOT click on the link.

Check the sender ID. Is that normal?

[Shalamar]

Its a phishing scam. Forward to wamu, click on no links, and then ignore.

[sinclairmcevoy]

I also got one very similar. Scam, scam, scam. NEVER respond or click on these links. Also remember that a bank you have no account with would not send this to you. Actually I've had several of these, mostly for banks in the States, I live in Canada. I get the same crap for paypal, I don't have an account with them either.

[BillC]

Sorry, that was meant to go to Rebecca.

[Normal Dude]

Wow, Wamu's costumer contact system sucks. No email address to send to, and their voice system requires a bank account / customer ID number to talk to anyone (Pressing 0s and wrong buttons doesn't get an operator.)

Sent through their message system, FSM knows if anyone will ever actually read it.

[bruto]

Look again at that letter for usage and spelling errors. You'd think if you're going to embark on a potentially lucrative phishing scheme you'd find find someone reasonably proficient in idiomatic English and have it proofread, but I guess part of the reason they're criminals is that they're stupid and lazy.

[rjh01]

This thread is in good company. Check the tag I just added.

[BPSCG]

Any email that begins, "Dear Valued Customer" or somesuch, purportedly from someone with whom you have a genuine business relationship, is almost certainly a scam. A genuine email will have your actual name in the salutation; why would they call you "Valued Customer" when they know your real name?

[TX50]

Another good rule of thumb is that a bank or financial institution
will never ask you to log in or demand personal information in an
email message. If you get an email requesting any of these things
then it's a scam.

[JonnyFive]

More specifically, the link in the email probably points to a dummy site (unless the phising site is gone or they're too dumb to set it up right) that will look like the actual login site but pass whatever you enter on to a server or email drop point that the scammers have set up. If their phising is successful, a few actual Wamu customers will put in their info and the scammers can harvest it before their drop point gets yanked.

I see they aren't sophisticated enough to spoof the "from" address very well.

At least you get interesting junk. All I ever get are these weird "secretcrush.com" spam mails. Also "meet Christian singles" (as I am a married atheist, that is particularly delicious in its irony).

No, I don't open them. I have no idea what they're trying to sell me.

[bruto]

I get a lot of these things, having had the same simple address for 10+ years. My ISP's spam trap catches most these days, but I occasionally scan them for amusing titles. You can sometimes arrange the title lines into a sort of found poetry:

Crestfallen

Her to me and she herself,
umbrella, snowmobile, liliputian,
Speak ist so, if it be so you.
Sir, I have seen you in the court,
symbiosis next pragmatic knapsack

The most beautiful girls will now fight for your attention.

[JonnyFive]

I get a lot of these things, having had the same simple address for 10+ years. My ISP's spam trap catches most these days, but I occasionally scan them for amusing titles. You can sometimes arrange the title lines into a sort of found poetry:

Crestfallen

Her to me and she herself,
umbrella, snowmobile, liliputian,
Speak ist so, if it be so you.
Sir, I have seen you in the court,
symbiosis next pragmatic knapsack

The most beautiful girls will now fight for your attention.

Beautiful... simply beautiful.

I used to get spam at work that randomly generated "from" names from a list of dictionary words, I guess to seem more legitimate... or something.

It created some pretty weird names. These are some I saved when I saw them:

Pediment R. Timepiece
Stonewall T. Room
Burglar D. Amati
Slept T. Pyramidal
Acclimation G. Misanthropy
Bountifully H. Guggenheim

There was some other one with "Angleworm" in there somewhere, but I forgot to save it. Damn.

[JimBenArm]

At least you get interesting junk. All I ever get are these weird "secretcrush.com" spam mails. Also "meet Christian singles" (as I am a married atheist, that is particularly delicious in its irony).

So I should stop sending them? There's no hope for us?

[JonnyFive]

So I should stop sending them? There's no hope for us?

You know that my true love is for the ET Corn God Dogs. George Simpson is only suing me because he's jealous!

[ToddH]

Forward it to spoof@wamu.com.

[Horatius]

Look again at that letter for usage and spelling errors. You'd think if you're going to embark on a potentially lucrative phishing scheme you'd find find someone reasonably proficient in idiomatic English and have it proofread, but I guess part of the reason they're criminals is that they're stupid and lazy.



Not only that, but they seem to have no idea what normal business correspondence should look like, style-wise. Last week, I got a phishing e-mail that claimed to be from the Royal Bank of Canada, that had 3 exclamation points in the e-mail title! !!! Has anyone ever seen that in any legitimate correspondence from a bank?

[JimBenArm]

You know that my true love is for the ET Corn God Dogs. George Simpson is only suing me because he's jealous!
>pouts<

[JonnyFive]

>pouts<

So sue me! ;)

[JimBenArm]

So sue me! ;)
"Here comes JimBenArm, Plantiff..."

[BPSCG]

Not only that, but they seem to have no idea what normal business correspondence should look like, style-wise. Last week, I got a phishing e-mail that claimed to be from the Royal Bank of Canada, that had 3 exclamation points in the e-mail title! !!! Has anyone ever seen that in any legitimate correspondence from a bank?Not me!!!

[ColumbusRyan]

Take it to Judge Judy. She'd have a ball.

[Normal Dude]

If it was me phishing, I would take actual emails from the bank and then insert a few key phrases where needed.

[NobbyNobbs]

Rule of thumb: if there is more than one spelling/punctuation/grammar mistake, it's a scam.



ETA: Edited for spelling mistake. :blush:

[rwguinn]

Beautiful... simply beautiful.

I used to get spam at work that randomly generated "from" names from a list of dictionary words, I guess to seem more legitimate... or something.

It created some pretty weird names. These are some I saved when I saw them:

Pediment R. Timepiece
Stonewall T. Room
Burglar D. Amati
Slept T. Pyramidal
Acclimation G. Misanthropy
Bountifully H. Guggenheim

There was some other one with "Angleworm" in there somewhere, but I forgot to save it. Damn.
sounds like a Terry Pratchett cast of characters

[Normal Dude]

Wow, Wamu's costumer contact system sucks. No email address to send to, and their voice system requires a bank account / customer ID number to talk to anyone (Pressing 0s and wrong buttons doesn't get an operator.)

Sent through their message system, FSM knows if anyone will ever actually read it.

Well I guess I owe wamu an apology. They responded to the message within 24 hours with a live person.

And yes, they did confirm it as phishing.

[rjh01]

Rule of thumb: if there is more than one spelling/punctuation/grammar mistake, it's a scam.



ETA: Edited for spelling mistake. :blush:

I knew something was wrong with the world. There are many spelling errors in posts. Does that mean they are scams? Have I found evidence for a CT here?

[BPSCG]

Rule of thumb: if there is more than one spelling/punctuation/grammar mistake, it's a scam.If there are any spelling/punctuation/grammar mistakes, it's highly suspect. A misplaced comma in a contract can cost a corporation thousands, even millions of dollars. That's why the spelling, punctuation, and grammar in emails from your real bank are typically impeccable.

[bruto]

I knew something was wrong with the world. There are many spelling errors in posts. Does that mean they are scams? Have I found evidence for a CT here?Sssh. Don't give us away. We're phishing for souls.

[NobbyNobbs]

If there are any spelling/punctuation/grammar mistakes, it's highly suspect. A misplaced comma in a contract can cost a corporation thousands, even millions of dollars. That's why the spelling, punctuation, and grammar in emails from your real bank are typically impeccable.

Agreed.

I put "more than one" because I have seen statements (not contracts, but statements) to clients and investors that have a misplaced apostrophe or a dangled participle, and such.

More than one, though, and it's either a scam or else the people in charge of marketing are so incompetant that you probably don't want to do business there anyway.

[slyjoe]

BTW NobbyNobbs - your Octamingo avatar is in the humor section now on the thread about aliens. :)

[exlex]

100% Scam. Guaranteed.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

For reference, I have already sent it to Wamu to see what they say. But I figured I would share here and get your opinions.

I received this email:

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/8585/90061562ny8.th.jpg

I blacked out the member ID in the link and my email.

I have no Wamu account, and have never dealt with them, in any way. The misspellings, and odd grammar make me very suspicious. it just doesn't sound like something I woud get from a bank.

I did NOT click on the link.

Check the sender ID. Is that normal?

Scam