Internet Defense Technologies

If you get this email and you actually are a Western Union customer, go directly to the website to check it out, but don’t click on the link.  This is a phishing attempt:

Dear Customer,

This is your official notification from Western Union. Your account has been limited due to a login attempt failure. To remove this limitation, you have to confirm your information on file with us. To continue, visit our website by clicking here >>

If you do not confirm your information, your Western Union online account will be permanently suspended and deleted from our system.

We are continually improving our website to better serve you. Be sure to check back with us often as we add exciting new services to meet your financial needs.

If you have questions or need assistance, our customer service team is here to help. Just visit our website.
Be sure to remember and protect your Username and Password. You will need them next time you sign in to our website.

___________________
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

There is a new study out which offers some evidence that spam mass mailings can generate sales at a notable rate.

Results show that in the weight-loss category, a significant percentage receiving spam-mail pitches purchased the products.

• 18.5% of those who described themselves as suffering from weight issues bought products
• 5% of those without those hurdles purchased them.

Even, the lesser 5% conversion rate dwarfs direct mail and likely much of so-called permission-based email.

Open rates were also high:

• 40%-plus of those with weight problems opened messages
• 18% of those without weight troubles opened the messages

Helps to answer why people keep sending spam out.

The study appears in the latest issue of the Southern Medical Journal and was conducted by Joshua Fogel, an associate professor in the Brooklyn College economics department, and Sam Shlivko, a former student at the college.

More information:

Losing Argument: Study Finds Spam Works For Weight Loss Pitches

Spam Works for Weight Loss

There is a new trend developing of email spam messages getting some filters that have no message text, just an MP3 file attached.

I have even heard some with the URL being said over heavy breathing (porn site you think?).

From what we have seen there is nothing dangerous with the MP3 file itself, but you don’t want to visit those websites.  Delete the file, you will be fine, nothing critical will be lost.

Malware:  This is a term that is a compound word formed from Malicious and software. Shortened to MalWare.

The word Mal comes from the Latin word Malus which means bad. Ware is usually used to refer a kind or class of merchandise or of a manufactured item like, silverware; glassware, software.

The derivation of this is Germanic and is a literal translation of the word ware.

So, basically this new mad up word means any type of software that is malicious in nature that could cause harm to your computer. This type of software is easily downloaded by visiting a site that offers “free” things. If your computer is not protected by a service that guards against this type of activity you may find an infected computer that no longer operates up to par.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and gets time to enjoy their family and friends.

I am thankful for my family, friends, health and happiness.  Here is to more and many spam free days :)

Ever hear the old adage you get what you pay for?

There is an ever increasing number of fake Spam products that are disguised as real protection for your computer.

This is known as Scareware. It’s those little flicker boxes that jump up on your screen telling you “click here for a free trial - you’ve been infected” or some other such scare tactic.

Imagine for a moment you are walking along a bustling metropolis street and a guy jumps out at you and “Hey hey I got the real deal designer bags over here, come take a look!” he then proceeds to show you “Prada”, “Chanel”, “Fendi” and all sorts of other “real” designer bags at one one hundredth of the cost it would be in Saks or Neiman Marcus etc. Now, you may consider buying one of these bags, but you would have to know somewhere in your mind that they are fake being that they are being sold in a dark alley on a side street by a guy who clearly doesn’t look legit.

That is not unlike Scareware. So, if you imagine the little pop up boxes etc that hit your computers the way you would in real life it is likely you wouldn’t bite.

If someone offered you a free security system for your house you just have to give them a set of keys you probably wouldn’t go for it right?

You get what you pay for.

There are so many problems with service based internet issues today it’s a wonder anyone still emails! From Spam, to Malware, to Viruses, Phishing attempts and on and on it is a barrage of funk.

Imagine walking down the street and people yelling at you to buy this or try that or whatever other random comments real life Spam would consist of. Or if you went into a department store to buy something and no one was there to charge you for your purchases. I’d walk out and never go back!

As was recently announced Google’s Postini was shut down preventing many people from getting emails for hours and some for days.

Service support, per Tweets was nil. Which only adds to the irritation because if there is anything worse than having problems with internet and mail it is having problems with trying to resolve those problems!

There are REAL solutions to Spam and the host of other internet related filth out there!

Total Mail Defense (TMD) – not to be confused with Total Male Enhancement – is one of those providers!

I have had great success, uninterrupted, by using this service. There is no “Spam folder” to have to deal with, it is set up for real people who have real lives that don’t need extra work created by a “solution”.

There is no such thing, especially from @yahoo.com:

From: UNCC (tmsablan@yahoo.com)
Subject: REFUND PAYMENT FROM UNCC

United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) In Affiliation with Barrack Obama Campaign to Assist Scammed Individuals In The Settlement of Disputes through Trust Credit Bank.

Attention: Beneficiary

I wish to congratulate you for the approval of the compensation payment of $500,000.00 USD by this commission. The United Nation Compensation Commission (UNCC) was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security Council. Its mandate is to retrieve lost funds through various law agents and also to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damages suffered as a direct result of Internet Fraud.
The UNCC in conjunction with the Barrack Obama Campaign on the 12th of October 2008 organized a confederation meeting which ended 2 weeks later with the UN Secretary General. This meeting was first held on the 8th of April 2003 by the then secretary to the UN. You can view this page for your perusal then do the needful by contacting the paying agent accordingly.
(http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/ik344.doc.htm).

This email is directed to all individuals that have been scammed in all parts of the world. In reference to the just concluded meeting, the UNCC in affiliation with Barrack Obama Campaign for Global Economic Crises eradication have agreed to compensate them with categorical payment sum of $500,000.00 each.

Trust Credit Bank(TCB) will handle the transfer of the fund through their Online Transfer System (E-Transfer). Your payment file has been forwarded to them so you should contact the bank today as soon as you receive this letter of notification.

Contact info:

Bank: Trust Credit Bank
Contact Person: Mr. Peter Brown
Temporary Emails: trustcredit@gmail.com or trustcredit1@gmail.com

DO REMEMBER YOUR PAYMENT REFERENCE: BR/FMWH/1001/09 AND IF YOU HAVE IN THE PAST MADE ANY FORM OF PAYMENT FOR THE TRANSFER OF THIS FUNDS, PLEASE DO STATE IT FOR OUR RECORD PURPOSE AS WE HAVE A MANDATE TO REPORT BACK TO THE PRESIDENCY THE PROGRESS OF THIS PAYMENT.

Mrs. Karen B. Magolie
Secretary

It seems like a ridiculous question.

I didn’t know it was Spam.

It looked legitimate.

I thought it was from my aunt Gertrude.

I needed to lose weight and it looked promising.

The endless list goes on and on, but the truth is marketing. You were a recipient of well planned marketing. No matter what you think the reason you responded to the Spam was the reality is you were “hooked”!

The subject line or that is was from someone who looked familiar, whatever it was you took hold of the line. That is what marketing does. Good. Bad. Legal. Illegal. All the same, it hooks you.

Would you open the front door of your house to someone who maybe looked like someone you know? NO!

If you start looking at your email as a real life communication channel, like your front door, you would think twice and stay away from the curiosity that is often just bait for bigger troubles!

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Often times when there is economic strife people will look for a get rich quick scheme, or buy more Lottery tickets than usual, or look for a great deal on something they are looking to buy.

In today’s economic and electronic times this means more Spam, more Spam, more Spam.

Spammers are predatory in that they don’t care who they solicit or what they solicit. They only care about their own bottom line. Not the American way, certainly not the way of a Republic, but it seems to be the growing trend in today’s modern world, an “all for one, one for none” type of an attitude, which helped with the economic collapse the world is experiencing today.

Recent surveys from the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) suggest that 80% of consumers surveyed after visiting a Spam site or responding to a Spam message in the U.S. don’t think that it is possible to get a virus, mal-ware etc., from such a visit.

This “never going to happen to me” attitude is problematic because in fact it likely will happen to anyone clicking through to a dangerous site solicited by Spam.

Further, according to the survey, most people who think that they cannot be infected are the best targets because they don’t pay attention and look for problems in their system and therefore are in a “dangerous” position.