Creative But Stupid Spammers

[Bigaldoc]

I've recently been getting spam at my ISP email address from all over the world. This happens two or three times a month so it's not the end of the world, especially since MailWasher Pro flags them immediately. It seems there's some spammer(s) who have gotten a number of user IDs that start with the same letter as mine and these emails will have 15-20 addressees - first clue. They purport (spoof) to come from legit places like Verizon Wireless, AT&T and others.

I've told my ISP about it several times, but it seems they're not able to do anything about it either. Thank goodness for MailWasher Pro!

This one this morning is kinda funny. It says I'm guilty of SPEEDING and need to pay up!!! Looking at the IP address in the header, it came from Vietnam. That's a new location in this pattern.

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There's a zip file attachment which obviously I didn't open. I let MailWasher delete the email on the server. What's FUNNY about it is that there's NO Friar's Way in Lexington. When I start typing that address in Google maps, here's what comes up:

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So, it looks like my car and I have been to some far distant places to do our speeding !!!

[PaulB]

Makes you wonder about the intelligence of these people and of the victims who fall for these scams. I have Caller-ID on my phone and screen all calls from callers I don't recognize. Yesterday I got a call from someone identified as 'Anonymous'. As if!

[John Gray]

Al - I wasn't aware there were any monks in Lexington? Unless that was Leckhampton, nr Cheltenham, UK!

[westerneagle]

I could not resist......I opened the file.....here is proof positive that YOU were speeding....

lightsimages.jpg

[Bigaldoc]

Not me, yer honor. My little 4 cylinder Saturn wouldn't go that fast if the devil his-self was chasin' it...

        

[viking33]

Not me, yer honor. My little 4 cylinder Saturn wouldn't go that fast if the devil his-self was chasin' it...

        

I don't know about that, Al.
That fourth tail light stream from the right sure looks like a Saturn going about 98 MPH.

[BobH]

Makes you wonder about the intelligence of these people and of the victims who fall for these scams. I have Caller-ID on my phone and screen all calls from callers I don't recognize. Yesterday I got a call from someone identified as 'Anonymous'. As if!

My cell phone displays the ID from my contacts list. If I get a call from any not in my list, I don't answer and let voice mail pick it up. Rarely do they ever leave a message. I think they are mostly robo-calls done with power dialers that recognize whether the response is human or that of voice mail - even when the outgoing message is one you recorded.

We have no land line. I've placed all our numbers (cell and Internet phone) on the national do-not-call list. Most telemarketers respect that list because the penalties can be quite stiff; however, the national list allows people with whom you have previously done business and politicians to call you without fear of penalty. I believe this includes political pollsters. I do not give out my cell phone number. I do not block my id on outgoing calls, though; so some places capture my number when I call in and place it in their databases. This is usually detectable when someone can ask if you are "?" (like the places you order pizzas sometimes do). I then send them clear instructions to remove my phone number from their systems. I found that I must give my number to the hospital and the HMO practice. It is required by law. God only knows what use will be made of it in the future. Of course, one can always cancel a cell phone and get new service, but eventually the law will require that it be disclosed. I'm thinking that my Magic Jack number is the only one I will ever give out again.