Strange Emails

[Comosus]

Don't open an email if you think it's suspicious.  Especially if it contains an attachment.

Andrew

[gemmac]

I have received a couple of strange emails lately with my semi wrong email address given. The first three letters were correct and the next five letters were wrong, but the correct number of letters, then @xxxxxxxx was all correct. So how did they do that  The email invited me to go look at their web site. I deleted of cause,  no way do I look at web site from people I don't know.

Gem

[Berlin-Bob]

So how did they do that 

"trial and error" mostly !!

one of my email adresses begins with 'bobc' so I get emails addressed to all sorts of names beginning with 'bobc' @my-provider.  Either the spammers have found lists of names somewhere, or they have programs to generate likely names and they just send out thousands, on the offchance, a few will be right.

Unlike the older, snail-mail mailshot, where they at least had to pay for the paper and postage, it costs them absolutely nothing

I can only repeat what the others have said: 

• delete anything suspicious
• delete anything from unknown addresses
• delete anything from unplausible addresses
• if you get anything from a known address, but with a suspicious sounding title,
  call them first to check if it is from them

[/size]
Example for the last point:
I received an email from a friend, headed "Security Alert"
As this is also a common spammer/virus trick to make you open mails, I phoned him before opening it.
In this case it was OK, he had received this alert and wanted to pass it on to his friends, but i was happier that I had checked first.

Bob

[gemmac]

Thanks Bob,

About five years ago my computer was infected with a virus that could not be cleaned by a professional, so I am now very, very wary of emails I do not recognize. I just delete.

My advice is, do not be curious, it is too expensive. 

Gem

[Chasing-fireflies]

Lately there has been a spate of e mails being sent (usually by your contacts) warning you that there is a new virus being sent via e mail. Some of these are genuine but others  actually have the virus attached to the back or the e mail. They can cause various problems but the main ones being that they shut down your internet connection and/or power to your computer. The worse problem is that some are not picked up with norton or Mcafee. I urge anyone who gets one of these e mails to scan all possible drives as soon as the e mail is opened or where possible do not open the e mail and just delete it. The virus can only continue to spread if it is then passed on to your contacts so if in doubt, dont forward it!
I have seen lately that many people are getting internet problems and problems with power turning off, this COULD be the cause but of course other problems can do this too. If you are getting problems and your virus protector does not pick up anything then a free version of virus protection (AVG)that does pick them up and can safely be downloaded from various places on the net.
I hope you all remain virus free!!!
 


Moderator Comment: topics merged

[suttontrust]

My ISP has a virus filter and recently introduced a spam filter, set it to "very severe" and didn't tell its customers.  We didn't realise that we weren't getting most of our legit emails.  Then they emailed everybody to tell us we could go into our accounts, check what had been blocked, and change the settings.  Even reset to "normal" it filters stuff you actually want until you tell it to release them.  Still, it cuts out all the obvious spam.

[RJ_Paton]

Unfortunately we have not yet invented the perfect machine i.e. one with the speed and memory of a computer but the flexibility of a humans learning system and any junk mail filter will still let some through while stopping what are legitimate mails.
Berlin Bob's advice is sound

I can only repeat what the others have said:

    * delete anything suspicious
    * delete anything from unknown addresses
    * delete anything from unplausible addresses
    * if you get anything from a known address, but with a suspicious sounding title,
      call them first to check if it is from them

[kerryb]

Too right Falkyrn

The problem is when a computer is invented with human capacities I'll be out of a job!!!

My partner sells Sussex Trugs and for obvious reason a lot of legit emails to him get dumped in our junk folder.  I always check very carefully.

Kerry 

[Sylviaann]

I had to change my e-mail because I was getting 200 a day, some in spam but some slipped through.  I made the mistake of putting my address on Genforum before you could hide it.

A lot of them were for extending a part of the anotomy that I as a woman, don't have.  Someone also wanted to clean my drains.  A long way to come from America.

Then there was the Egyptian pilot who wanted me to help him set up a business.

I go back to look at that old address now and again and occasionally find a contact from one of the Family History Areas I subscribed to.  Takes me ages to go through them.

I don't get any now at my present address.  Sometimes they put legit e-mails in the spam section

Sylviaann