| |
| |
|
Security Information |
|
|
|
Online Cell Phone Scams and Spam
They're out there. Individuals trying to make a quick buck at your expense. You labour hours on end to produce quality content on your website only to get repetitive requests for huge numbers of product or promises for the greatest deals online. As a webmaster for a cell phone and PDA site, I've had my share of spam and scams come through, mostly via email, some posted on my forum. The purpose of this article is to provide a few methods of detecting spam and scams, and provide a few examples as well. Take a look over and protect yourself from online cellular fraud. Anybody catch the 60 minutes episode where Andy Rooney teaches faithful viewers how to detect junk mail? Junk email works in much the same way. Items with subject headings 'Great deal', or 'limited time offer' usually can wait, and definitely don't have great offers hidden inside. Webmasters and consumers should have a golden rule, if you don't know where an offer came from (you don't know the sender) then delete it. Plain and simple. Most free email accounts, GMAIL, Hotmail, Yahoo!, have good filters that label incoming spam and scams as, well, spam. However, the majority of webmasters do not use free email accounts for the sake of professionalism. To these individuals, a basic virus detector usually includes email protection and generally will detect possible spam items before they hit your box. Having said this, if you're doing link campaigns, or joining forums, etc., in order to promote your site, it may not be a bad idea to enlist the free online email account and prevent all the unwanted junk from hitting your work emails. It's been my experience that some people out there hand pick contact pages of potential victims, and therefore the email may be somewhat individualised to your site. Your name, the site name, or similar content, may be communicated within the email making it appear somewhat legitimate. Be mindful of your email accounts (contact pages) that are exposed to the world wide web. Some smart scammers have created bots that will automatically harvest emails that are sitting live on the web and input them into a spam list. Remember this when trying to determine whether something from the web is legit. If an questionable email has contact information, Google it. If it's a legitimate company contacting you, they should have some type of online presence. I've noticed that the majority of spam and scams have fake mail addresses, but no online address. Furthermore, emails usually come from online web accounts like Yahoo!. Not only can you search contact information, you can serach content as well. Chances are a webmaster has posted the contents on a forum somewhere wondering about its legitimacy. I can't stress this enough, take 4 seconds and doabout the email before you consider replying. With these simple and quick tips you should be able to identify the majority of scam and spam emails. If in doubt, delete. If something was important that you deleted, or legitimate, the individual will likely try to contact you again. With this in mind, here are some examples of spam and scam emails from the cellular and technology industry, my comments are in brackets. Subject: WE HAVE LOTS OF GSM/NEXTEL MOBILE PHONES AT VERY CHEAP PRICES'''''''' [The subject always varies.] PHONES SELLERS INCORPORATED Dear Sir/Ma, LETTER OF BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP Fola David [A variation of the above is instead of written body content, they will actually send a product list of the cell phones they require asking for a dozen of each. Sounds like great business!...Here's the next one] CONSOLIDATED PHONES LIMITED Dear sir, COMMERCIAL SALE OF BULK MOBILE PHONES WE ARE EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS OF GSM, TDMA, AND CDMA PHONES. [CDMA Phones do not run the majority of African networks.] WE ARE ONE OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR, AND WE GIVE OUT OUR BEST IN SATISFYING OUR NUMEROUS CUSTORMERS. WE SELL IN BULK AND AT A VERY CHEAP RATE. WE WILL LIKE TO USE THIS MEDIUM TO INTRODUCE TO YOU OUR VARIOUS PHONE BRANDS AND ACCESSORIES LISTED IN OUR PRICE LIST. THESE ITEMS ARE READY FOR SALE AND THE PRICE LIST IS AS GIVEN BELOW. WE WILL BE WAITING AND READY TO ASSIST YOU IN ANY INFORMATION REQUIRED BY YOU, AND ALSO, WE ARE READY TO DO BUSINESS WITH ANY COMPANY, INDIVIDUALS OR GROUP AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT FRAUDULENT. [Of course you wouldn't.] WE WILL SEND OUR RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND PRICE LIST ON DEMAND. BEST REGARD. JULIAN JONES (MISS) But two examples of two spam/scam emails. Keep your eyes peeled webmasters! Barry Nagassar is owner and operator of DiscussWireless an online cell phone and PDA forum that provides the latest cell phone news, reviews, and cell phone fraud discussion. Included is a comprehensive compare and shop section for the latest cellular and PDA phones. Compare competitor prices in one location, or join the forum and post the latest review or service provider issue. Complete cell phone fraud forum included.
MORE RESOURCES:
Security - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Personal Firewalls for Home Users What is a Firewall?The term "firewall" illustrates a system that protects a network and the machines on them from various types of attack. Firewalls are geared towards keeping the server up all the time and protecting the entire network. 3 Steps to Ending Scams and Virus Problems Watching how the traditional media covers the latest virus or scam would make one think we are all innocent victims and it is the "evil Internet" at work once again. News flash! Innocent? More like uninformed. Burning Bridges is Bad, But Firewalls are Good When you signed up for that ultra-fast DSL or Cable connection there was probably one very important piece of information that your ISP failed to mention. By accessing the Internet via a high-speed connection, you have tremendously increased your chances of being victimized by a computer hacker. The 5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet Spyware, viruses and worms.. Watching the Watchers: Detection and Removal of Spyware If spyware were a person and he set himself up in your house, you are likely going to do one of two things. You'll kick him out yourself or you'll call someone (such as the police) to do it for you. Its War I Tell You! There are ways to insure security though. You can get the Windows Update CD from Microsoft and install that before you get online, You can also get most Antivirus Definitions downloaded and save them to disk, then install those before you go online, (of course you have to be using that Product in the first place), and you can get Anti-Spyware on a disk and do the same. Computer Security What is computer security? Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. A Personal Experience with Identity Theft Some months ago, before there was much publicity regarding phishing and identity theft, I became a victim.My first inkling that I'd been scammed came from a telephone call from my bank asking if I had been to Italy or Roumania. 6 Ways To Prevent Identity Theft These six ways to prevent identity theft offer you valuable tips against the fastest growing crime in America today. In 2004, more than 9. Dont Get Hacked - A Guide to Protecting Your Business from Thieves You've seen it in the news - 40 million credit cards exposed!With all the news about web sites being hacked and cyber thieves stealing credit card numbers and other personal data, it's no wonder that some shoppers are still hesitant to provide payment information online. You don't have to be. If You Steal It, They May Come! Business on the internet is getting down right shameless. This week, my email box was literally filled with hype, overly inflated promises, phish mail, scams, ezines I did not order, and about 14 viagra gimmicks. With the Rise of Internet Crimes, Users are Turning to High-Tech "PI's" for Solutions High-tech private investigators are becoming the answer for many Internet users who have been victimized online. The use of e-mail by that unethical element lurking in cyberspace rings all too common these days. Lets Talk About Antivirus Software! Nowadays more and more people are using a computer. A lot of them use it at their work place, but an increasing number of computer users have also discovered the need to have a computer at home. Wells Fargo Report Phishing Scam First off I should explain what phishing is. Phishing is basically the act of tricking a victim into divulging information. Three-pronged Trojan Attack Threatens Security on the Internet Glieder (Win32.Glieder. Check Out That Privacy Policy Before you enter your name, address or any other data in that form, STOP! Wait. Don't enter anything yet. 7 Ways to Spot a PayPal Scam E-Mail Paypal is a great site and is used by many to send and receive money. Unfortunately some dishonest people are using the Popularity of Paypal to line their own pockets with gold at the expense of unsuspecting Pay Pal members. Hacked: Who Else Is Using Your Computer? A friend called me one day and asked if I would stop by to look at his computer. He said it was running abnormally slow and he had found something on his hard-drive he could not explain. Virus Nightmare..Lessons Learned I got a virus the other day, Thursday I believe and since then I have been making FRANTIC efforts to save all my info.The most important thing for me to save are my Outlook Express emails and my Roboform passwords. Spyware is Not Like a Nosy Neighbor Remember the television show about the nosy neighbor Mrs. Kravitz always peeking out her window or over the fence, sometimes even knocking on the door just to find out what was going on in her neighborhood? If you don't wait a month or so and the DVD or the movie will be out.
|
|
home | site map Visit our other sites: GamesBlog | GamingDepot | GimmeaRide | GimmeNetwork | Golf Biz | HotorNotGame | I Want Computers | I Want Games | I Want Hosting | I Want Music | I Want Security | JokeBox | ScriptShock | Wantedfonts | Webalize |
| © 2006 |
