WirelessAdvisor.com

JFB · 06-20-2005, 12:11 PM

Over the past week or so we have rec'd several emails that say they are from WA and include an attachment.

DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT!

These emails are not being sent out by WirelessAdvisor.com. They are sent by people that want to trick you into opening the attachment.

Here is just one example of such an email.

Quote:

Dear user talk,

It has come to our attention that your Wirelessadvisor User Profile ( x ) records are out of date. For further details see the attached document.

Thank you for using Wirelessadvisor!
The Wirelessadvisor Support Team

+++ Attachment: No Virus (Clean)
+++ Wirelessadvisor Antivirus - www.wirelessadvisor.com

Please spread the word not to open any attahments. WirelessAdvisor.com will NEVER send you an email with an attachment.

If you have seen other examples of these scam emails, you can post them here to help warn other users.

Shizam76 · 06-20-2005, 12:22 PM

Thanks Joe...I haven't seen any....yet.

Usually the WA staff communicates to us via PM, not email....so would just toss it out if it had attachments on it.

Tony E! · 06-20-2005, 12:39 PM

Depending on your "user cp" settings, members will also get e-mail notifications when someone replies to a thread or sents a PM so these "virus-e-mails" can also be mistaken for such...
keep your eyes open.

ShoresGuy · 06-20-2005, 12:45 PM

Thanks for the warning, they spelled WirelessAdvisor.com team small.

Gamer03 · 06-20-2005, 1:05 PM

Thanks for warning us Joe.

I hate people that send virus e-mails.

I never open it even if it is someone I know. I will e-mail the person back first and ask if they sent me an attachment.

Tony E! · 06-20-2005, 1:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gamer03

Thanks for warning us Joe.

I hate people that send virus e-mails.

I never open it even if it is someone I know. I will e-mail the person back first and ask if they sent me an attachment.

thank goodness for firewalls....

WiggyFife · 06-20-2005, 2:10 PM

definitely thanks for the warning...

RJB · 06-20-2005, 9:02 PM

I got one of these from another forum man these people are trying to trick you any way they can.

JFB · 06-21-2005, 3:36 PM

Here is another example of a fake email NOT from WA:

Quote:

Dear user talk,

You have successfully updated the password of your Wirelessadvisor account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance with your account, please contact Wirelessadvisor customer service at: register@wirelessadvisor.com

Thank you for using Wirelessadvisor!
The Wirelessadvisor Support Team

+++ Attachment: No Virus (Clean)
+++ Wirelessadvisor Antivirus - www.wirelessadvisor.com

Please be aware of these and delete them.

ShoresGuy · 06-21-2005, 5:28 PM

What e-mail address are they sending these from? A WA address?

JFB · 06-21-2005, 6:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy

What e-mail address are they sending these from? A WA address?

They are absolutely NOT from a wirelessadvisor.com email address. They are spoofed (faked) so they appear to come from WA. Similar crimmals do the same with ebay, paypal, banks and credit card companies.

ShoresGuy · 06-21-2005, 8:06 PM

I see, thanks for the explaination. I didn't recall that this is a very common practice on the part of people seeking to get personal login data.

Matt · 06-22-2005, 12:27 AM

I haven't received one, but if you take a look at the complete email headers you should be able to tell it's not from WA. Start from the bottom of the headers as that stuff can't be faked - some stuff towards the top of the headers can be faked.

DarkKnight · 06-22-2005, 1:05 AM

Thanks for the heads up, I have not seen one of these bogus e-mails in my inbox yet. Thanks again

budney · 06-22-2005, 2:11 AM

Thanks for the heads up. I will toss it/them like I do with all the bogus eBay & PayPal emails I get.

Gamer03 · 06-22-2005, 1:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony E

thank goodness for firewalls....

Exactly.

Norton is the best imo.......

z00m · 06-22-2005, 2:44 PM

Is there an email setup to report such fake emails ? like spoof@wirelessadvisor.com or nospam@wirelessadvisor.com

larry · 06-22-2005, 3:19 PM

I report all fake ebay e-mails I get to spoof@ebay.com. But I don't think it does much good as I still get them. But now that I've changed my e-mail address with DSL I haven't got any spam yet.

Tony E! · 06-22-2005, 3:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry

I report all fake ebay e-mails I get to spoof@ebay.com. But I don't think it does much good as I still get them. But now that I've changed my e-mail address with DSL I haven't got any spam yet.

Same here, i just gave up on that, on my yahoo account i just have all my e-mail blocked now....i used only my AOL e-mail address now.

xikle · 06-22-2005, 5:46 PM

I've found that Gmail seems to be pretty good at blocking spam and letting important messages through. Also I have not gotten one of the fake WA messages yet.

ShoresGuy · 06-22-2005, 10:03 PM

My Hotmail address is pretty good at filtering out spam. Outlook Express rarely causes problems by downloading messages I don't want.

JFB · 07-16-2005, 3:21 PM

Here is another example of an email NOT from WA:

Quote:

Dear Wirelessadvisor Member,

Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of unsolicited spam messages during the recent week. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and confirm the attached document so you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to cancel your membership.

Virtually yours,
The Wirelessadvisor Support Team

If you get one of these delete it and do not open the attachment.

RJB · 07-16-2005, 6:29 PM

Joe thanks for the heads up

ShoresGuy · 07-16-2005, 8:23 PM

Don't these people ever give up? They still can't spell Wireless Advisor correctly.

RJB · 07-17-2005, 3:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy

My Hotmail address is pretty good at filtering out spam. Outlook Express rarely causes problems by downloading messages I don't want.

Your Hotmail still gets email from here I thought it was outlawed??

ShoresGuy · 07-17-2005, 3:18 PM

How is it outlawed? I'm confused

I registered using my Hotmail address in 2003. I get regular updates from WA stating that there has been an update to a thread I posted in. If I check Hotmail on the web, the spam folder is pretty full and in OE, the Junk Mail folder remains empty plus the inbox isn't jammed with stuff I don't want.

sid pearlman · 07-17-2005, 8:39 PM

I see a pattern here. I get all those fake ebay and Paypal and bank spoofs, which are easy to spot.
What I think is happening is ID thieves may be going into forums and newsgroups and targeting those group members with email content that seems to relate to or come from that group.
The idea is to trick people into letting their guard down by using an smaller familiar group.

It must take more time to target smaller groups, but I bet it works. I didn't get one from WA but I did get a cellular related spoof message, but to a (junk) hotmail account. Really confused me for a bit, then realized spoofers must be harvesting email adresses from usenet and then using a subject line that pertains to that kind of group.

This Virus (or spoof not sure which?) must be just a more focused attempt to get ID info, or access to ones computer.
The plan is simply to make the spoof email look as if it came from a trusted source.

If spoofers start doing this on WA, then it should serve as a warning to be suspect of EVERY email coming from any public forum which one is registered on. I bet we will be seeing many more of these group specific spoof attempts.

I guess never opening attachments or making account changes requested in an email notification, even from familiar groups, would be prudent.

Thanks for the heads up. I'd like to think I couldn't be fooled, but the spoofers are getting trickier by the day!

-
Sid

Matt · 07-18-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanB

Your Hotmail still gets email from here I thought it was outlawed??

I believe those users who originally were using Hotmail on WA got to keep it, but new registrations would not be permitted to use Hotmail.

Fire14 · 07-18-2005, 1:23 PM

This is very sad, that it's happening to people. Luckily I haven't received any yet & hope I never do. Thank's again Joe for alerting us to this & hopefully these moron's will get caught & busted (I doubt it, but it is good to hope).

ShoresGuy · 07-18-2005, 3:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

I believe those users who originally were using Hotmail on WA got to keep it, but new registrations would not be permitted to use Hotmail.

I thought that was the case

. Thanks for the 411, Matt.

06-20-2005, 12:22 PM	#2
Shizam76 Shizam! Babyyyyy! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 2,950 Phone(s): Palm Treo 750, Palm Treo 650 (Wife) Provider(s): AT&T Thanks: 11 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Images: 95 My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Thanks Joe...I haven't seen any....yet. Usually the WA staff communicates to us via PM, not email....so would just toss it out if it had attachments on it. __________________ http://www.80sondemand.com

06-20-2005, 12:39 PM	#3
Tony E! \/\/ireless /\dvisor Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: City of /\ngels CA. Posts: 10,108 Phone(s): KR/\ZR K1·/\/\OTO i880, BBCURVE 8350i Provider(s): ·T···Mobile·Sprint/Nextel Devices: /\/\otoH12·/\/\otoH690 Thanks: 3 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts Images: 19 My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Depending on your "user cp" settings, members will also get e-mail notifications when someone replies to a thread or sents a PM so these "virus-e-mails" can also be mistaken for such... keep your eyes open. __________________ (oOO \ (\|\|\|\|)(\|\|\|\|) / OOo) Any misspellings or grammatical errors in the above statement are intentional; they are placed there for the enjoyment of those who like to point them out.

06-20-2005, 12:45 PM	#4
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Thanks for the warning, they spelled WirelessAdvisor.com team small. __________________ Visiting Europe?Ask me: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/international-wireless-forum-including-canada-mexico/ http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/international-wireless-forum-including-canada-mexico/8351-europe-sim-info-helpful-links.html Nokia Reset Codes: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/nokia/7973-nokia-series-40-60-80-reset.html Originally from: Redwood City, CA Living in: Cologne, Germany

06-20-2005, 1:05 PM	#5
Gamer03 Technology Aficionado Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Florida Everglades Posts: 8,561 Phone(s): HTC Touch Pro2 (me), Moto Adventure V750 (dad), Moto E815 (mom), LG Chocolate 3 (sis) Provider(s): Verizon (4 lines on a FS plan); AT&T (past) Devices: NB;GPS;Slingbox PRO;iPod 80GB;Kenwood DDX512 Thanks: 10 Thanked 13 Times in 10 Posts Images: 68	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Thanks for warning us Joe. I hate people that send virus e-mails. I never open it even if it is someone I know. I will e-mail the person back first and ask if they sent me an attachment. __________________ My Carriers: Cellular One (TDMA) [1998-1999]>>AT&T (TDMA) [1999-2001]>>Cingular (TDMA) [2001-2003]>>Sprint [2003-2005]>>Verizon Wireless [2005 to 2008]>>Sprint SERO [2006-2008]>>AT&T [2008 to present]>>Verizon Wireless INpulse [2009 to present]

06-20-2005, 2:10 PM	#7
WiggyFife still knows nothing!!! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chandler, AZ Posts: 4,318 Phone(s): LG VX8700 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless Devices: HP Laptop, Palm T\|X, iPod, Toyota Camry BT. Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA definitely thanks for the warning...

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Virus Emails NOT from WA in Site Information; "Over the past week or so we have rec'd several ..."

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06-20-2005, 9:02 PM	#8
RJB Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 7,064 Provider(s): VZW, AT&T Thanks: 36 Thanked 15 Times in 15 Posts Images: 96	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I got one of these from another forum man these people are trying to trick you any way they can.

06-21-2005, 5:28 PM	#10
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA What e-mail address are they sending these from? A WA address? __________________ Visiting Europe?Ask me: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10 http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=8351 Nokia Reset Codes: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=7973 Originally from: Redwood City, CA Living in: Cologne, Germany

06-21-2005, 8:06 PM	#12
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I see, thanks for the explaination. I didn't recall that this is a very common practice on the part of people seeking to get personal login data. __________________ Visiting Europe?Ask me: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10 http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=8351 Nokia Reset Codes: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=7973 Originally from: Redwood City, CA Living in: Cologne, Germany

06-22-2005, 12:27 AM	#13
Matt Busy chasing my son Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lititz, Pa. Posts: 4,876 Phone(s): Motorola Cliq, BlackBerry 8820 Provider(s): T-Mobile Thanks: 4 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Images: 2	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I haven't received one, but if you take a look at the complete email headers you should be able to tell it's not from WA. Start from the bottom of the headers as that stuff can't be faked - some stuff towards the top of the headers can be faked. __________________ Join the T-Mobile Group Forum (or any other!) ...a/k/a cheerioboy26 elsewhere on the net....

06-22-2005, 1:05 AM	#14
DarkKnight Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Colorado,USA Posts: 171 Phone(s): LG enV Touch Provider(s): Verizon Wireless Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Thanks for the heads up, I have not seen one of these bogus e-mails in my inbox yet. Thanks again

06-22-2005, 2:11 AM	#15
budney Resident Headbanger Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: FV, CA Posts: 4,608 Phone(s): Treo Pro, Touch Pro 2, Katana II Provider(s): Sprint Devices: 30GB Zune & 1GB Zen Stone Thanks: 4 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts Images: 14 My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Thanks for the heads up. I will toss it/them like I do with all the bogus eBay & PayPal emails I get. __________________ 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,' unless you're a tweaker, and in that case you already fixed it ten times and it's still broken. - Dave Mustaine

06-22-2005, 2:44 PM	#17
z00m Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Ric VA Posts: 139 Provider(s): ex-Suncom/Cingular Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Is there an email setup to report such fake emails ? like spoof@wirelessadvisor.com or nospam@wirelessadvisor.com __________________ Try the Better Safer Web Browser ! http://www.getfirefox.com

06-22-2005, 3:19 PM	#18
larry Go Angels! Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 13,384 Phone(s): LG Rumor 2, Sanyo Katana II Provider(s): Sprint Thanks: 29 Thanked 25 Times in 24 Posts Images: 154 My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I report all fake ebay e-mails I get to spoof@ebay.com. But I don't think it does much good as I still get them. But now that I've changed my e-mail address with DSL I haven't got any spam yet.

06-22-2005, 5:46 PM	#20
xikle For rent: inquire below Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Currently off base Posts: 1,019 Phone(s): BB Curve Provider(s): T-Moble Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I've found that Gmail seems to be pretty good at blocking spam and letting important messages through. Also I have not gotten one of the fake WA messages yet. __________________ If at first you don't succeed, quit; don't be a nut about success.

06-22-2005, 10:03 PM	#21
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA My Hotmail address is pretty good at filtering out spam. Outlook Express rarely causes problems by downloading messages I don't want. __________________ Visiting Europe?Ask me: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10 http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=8351 Nokia Reset Codes: http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/showthread.php?t=7973 Originally from: Redwood City, CA Living in: Cologne, Germany

07-16-2005, 6:29 PM	#23
RJB Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 7,064 Provider(s): VZW, AT&T Thanks: 36 Thanked 15 Times in 15 Posts Images: 96	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Joe thanks for the heads up

07-16-2005, 8:23 PM	#24
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA Don't these people ever give up? They still can't spell Wireless Advisor correctly.

07-17-2005, 3:18 PM	#26
ShoresGuy Euer WA Experte in Europa Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: 94065,US/Köln, Germany Posts: 6,568 Phone(s): HTC/T-Mobile MDA II PPC, Motorola E770V Provider(s): E-Plus (BASE 12 month flatrate)/Vodafone Germany Devices: T-Mobile MDA II - GSM 900/1800/1900 w/WM 2003 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 419	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA How is it outlawed? I'm confused I registered using my Hotmail address in 2003. I get regular updates from WA stating that there has been an update to a thread I posted in. If I check Hotmail on the web, the spam folder is pretty full and in OE, the Junk Mail folder remains empty plus the inbox isn't jammed with stuff I don't want.

07-17-2005, 8:39 PM	#27
sid pearlman Fresh Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: INTERZONE/SF Bay Area Posts: 28 Phone(s): VZW Branded Nokia 6256i, T-MO prepay, SIM swaps, AVX 9500 + yagi antenna, Retired Bagphone Provider(s): Verizon, SPCS(FreeRoam), T-Mobile Prepay (back up) Devices: Garmin 60cs, Antennex 9db Yagi Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA I see a pattern here. I get all those fake ebay and Paypal and bank spoofs, which are easy to spot. What I think is happening is ID thieves may be going into forums and newsgroups and targeting those group members with email content that seems to relate to or come from that group. The idea is to trick people into letting their guard down by using an smaller familiar group. It must take more time to target smaller groups, but I bet it works. I didn't get one from WA but I did get a cellular related spoof message, but to a (junk) hotmail account. Really confused me for a bit, then realized spoofers must be harvesting email adresses from usenet and then using a subject line that pertains to that kind of group. This Virus (or spoof not sure which?) must be just a more focused attempt to get ID info, or access to ones computer. The plan is simply to make the spoof email look as if it came from a trusted source. If spoofers start doing this on WA, then it should serve as a warning to be suspect of EVERY email coming from any public forum which one is registered on. I bet we will be seeing many more of these group specific spoof attempts. I guess never opening attachments or making account changes requested in an email notification, even from familiar groups, would be prudent. Thanks for the heads up. I'd like to think I couldn't be fooled, but the spoofers are getting trickier by the day! - Sid

07-18-2005, 1:23 PM	#29
Fire14 Easy,Cheap & Sleazy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Union County NJ Posts: 8,457 Phone(s): EnV, V750 Provider(s): Verizon Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Images: 293 My Auctions	Re: Virus Emails NOT from WA This is very sad, that it's happening to people. Luckily I haven't received any yet & hope I never do. Thank's again Joe for alerting us to this & hopefully these moron's will get caught & busted (I doubt it, but it is good to hope).

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