hotmail hijack

[postggj]

well i got my hotmail account hijacked

everybody in my contacts list received male enhancement pills and the blue pill advert

is easy enough to rectify by just changing your hotmail password but it makes you feel violated that some scum bag has invented a trojan for the spammers to spam all your contacts

looking at the problem through google, microsoft are well aware of this problem and do nothing

as this is a data protection issue world wide

how do microsoft get away with not making internet explorer secure being america is the litigation capital of the world

[charitynjw]

Re: hotmail hijack

Sounds like a right c*ck-up, kp

[Bill-K]

Re: hotmail hijack

Sounds like a right c*ck-up, kp

LOL - These are hardened criminals, remember ()
I have had a number of my contacts send me 'out of character' recommendations for stuff like that, and I have advised them of a method I was shown a while back which is supposed to stop this. I use it myself, and so far I haven't had any emails telling me to stop pushing 'blue smarties.' That doesn't mean the method works - but the evidence seems to point that way, and the logic adds up.

Basically, it seems to be a 'virus,' 'worm,' or 'Trojan' which bypasses your password protection and finds your address list. Sure, this shouldn't be possible with Hotmail, should it ? I use Gmail, which is similar, in that it doesn't store loads of your stuff on your hard drive, but stores it online. Whatevva.....the 'virus' looks for your address list, then starts at the beginning and works through it. The solution I found was to put 'dummy' addresses in there, which don't exist. I'm told this makes the virus believe there is an error, and it buggers off to find another victim.

I posted in another forum about this a while ago, and I'll see if I can find the post and copy it here. The more people that know of it, the better, methinks.

[Bill-K]

Re: hotmail hijack

Found it. I hope the external link is OK with admin. I'm sure it is, actually.

Penalty Action Group Login

There are a couple of other scams worth checking out in that thread, I reckon.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
You may not get access, in which case, here's a text copy of the thread:-

I recently got this from my folks in Oz - it is simple to do and makes perfectly good sense to me. In addition to using the 'A' below, I have also added a 'Z' and a '0' (ZERO) - to try and add further protection. The 'Z' is for any worms that are wise to this, and start at the END of the Address Book. The '0' is to protect any addresses that might start with a number, as this is ranked even higher than 'A' in the Address Book (NB., it MUST be a ZERO - and NOT a letter 'O'). Remember to do this for any other Address Books you have in any different, older, or defunct accounts/addresses:-
How to protect your e-mail address book

A computer repairman says this is like having gold.
This is a good thing.
I learned a computer trick today that's really ingenious in its simplicity.

As you may know, when/if a worm virus gets into your computer
it heads straight for your email address book,
and sends itself to everyone in there,
thus infecting all your friends and associates.

This trick won't keep the virus from getting
into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book
to spread further, and it will alert you to the fact that the worm has
got into your system.

Here's what you do:

First, open your address book and click on
'new contact,'
just as you would do if you were adding
a new friend to your list of email addresses.
In the window where you would type your
friend's first name, type in 'A'.

For the screen name or email address,
type AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA

Now, here's what you've done and why it works:
The 'name 'A' will be placed at the top of your address book
as entry #1.

This will be where the worm will start
in an effort to send itself to all your friends.
When it tries to send itself to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA,
it will be undeliverable
because of the phony email address you entered.
If the first attempt fails
(which it will because of the phoney address),
the worm goes no further
and your friends will not be infected.

Here's the second great advantage of this method:
If an email cannot be delivered,
you will be notified of this in your In Box almost immediately.
Hence,
if you ever get an email telling you that an email addressed to AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA could not be delivered,
you know right away that you have the worm virus
in your system.
You can then take steps to get rid of it!

Pretty slick huh?

If everybody you know does this
then you need not ever worry about opening mail from friends.
DO IT NOW and pass this on to all your friends.

BillK
Ask Away...


Posts: 1891
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Outta my tree - but still swinging !
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Re: Scam Prevention
#2 by BillK on Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:48 pm

I got this from my Oz rellies recently:-
Credit Card Scam

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the
information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have
it... This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA
& Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better
prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was
called on Thursday from 'Master Card'.. The scam works like this:
Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud
Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. You r card has been
flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify.
This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did
you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing
company based in ?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing
a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and
the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase
pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit
will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud
investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800
number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for
Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives
you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says,
'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to
'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers;
the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security
Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the
numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have
the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After
you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just
needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you
still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say
No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back
if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the
Card number.. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back
within 20 minutes to ask a question.. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA
Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a
new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA
account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.

What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the
card Don't give it to them.

Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for
verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they
will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the
information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3
Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the
time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't
make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to
actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from
a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the
VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a
police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking
several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we
know that this scam is happening.

Please pass this on to all your family, friends and neighbours. By
informing each other, we protect each other.

BillK
Ask Away...


Posts: 1891
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Outta my tree - but still swinging !
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Re: Scam Prevention
#3 by BillK on Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:50 pm

I recently got this from another good member of PAG:-

This is pretty good info. Never even thought about key cards containing anything other than an access code for the room!

HOTEL KEY CARDS

Ever wonder what is on your magnetic key card?

Answer:
a. Customer's name
B. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.

Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous guest's information is erased in the overwriting process.

But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.

For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!

If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the card.

Information courtesy of: Metropolitan Police Service.

PLEASE FORWARD to friends and family.

BillK
Ask Away...


Posts: 1891
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: Outta my tree - but still swinging !
Top
Re: Scam Prevention
#4 by BillK on Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:52 pm

...and this:-

A NEW TELEPHONE 'SCAM' HAS ARRIVED.

I received a call from a 'representative' of BT,
informing me that he was dis-connecting me because of an
unpaid bill. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 , or it would be £ 118.00 to re-connect at a later date.

The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with
Virgin Media, allegedly VM have to pay BT a percentage for
line rental!

I asked the guy's name - he gave me the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number - 0800 0800 152.

Obviously the fellow realized I didn’t believe his
story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. I
asked how & he told me to hang up & try phoning
someone - he would dis-connect my phone to prevent this.
AND HE DID !! My phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until he phoned me again.

Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT. I asked how the payment was to be made & he said credit card, there & then.

I said that I didn't know how he'd done it, but I had absolutely no intention of paying him, I didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT.

He hung up.

Dialed 1471 & phoned his fictitious 0800 number - not
recognized.

I phoned the police to let them know. I wasn't the first! It's only just started apparently, but it is escalating.

Their advice was to let as many people as possible know of this scam. The fact that the phone does go off would probably convince some people it's real, so please make as many friends & family aware of this.
------------------------------------------------------------

A colleague replied with the following

Real con job, don't get caught

This is good but not that clever. He gave the wrong number - it should have been 0800 800 152 which takes you through to BT Business. The cutting off of the line is very simple, he stays on the line with the mute button on and you can't dial out - but he can hear you trying (This is because the person who initiates a call is the one to terminate it). When you stop trying he cuts off and immediately calls back. You could almost be convinced! The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable.

By the way this is not about getting the cash as this would not get past merchant services - it is all about getting the credit card details which include the security number so that it can be used for far larger purchases.

Cheers

Ian A Younger CFE, MABI, MICM
Certified Fraud Examiner
Specialist in Fraud and Commercial Investigation
Member of the Fraud Advisory Panel

[michael]

Re: hotmail hijack

L The solution I found was to put 'dummy' addresses in there, which don't exist. I'm told this makes the virus believe there is an error, and it buggers off to find another victim.

The AAAAAA@AAAA wheeze seems to be a myth:
AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA hoax

[leclerc]

Re: hotmail hijack

The AAAAAA@AAAA wheeze seems to be a myth:
AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA hoax

AAAAAAA@AAA.AAA hoax


That one!!!

[charitynjw]

Re: hotmail hijack

Originally Posted by The Heavy Breather*

Sounds like a right c*ck-up, kp

LOL - These are hardened criminals, remember ()
I have had a number of my contacts send me 'out of character' recommendations for stuff like that, and I have advised them of a method I was shown a while back which is supposed to stop this. I use it myself, and so far I haven't had any emails telling me to stop pushing 'blue smarties.' That doesn't mean the method works - but the evidence seems to point that way, and the logic adds up.

Basically, it seems to be a 'virus,' 'worm,' or 'Trojan' which bypasses your password protection and finds your address list. Sure, this shouldn't be possible with Hotmail, should it ? I use Gmail, which is similar, in that it doesn't store loads of your stuff on your hard drive, but stores it online. Whatevva.....the 'virus' looks for your address list, then starts at the beginning and works through it. The solution I found was to put 'dummy' addresses in there, which don't exist. I'm told this makes the virus believe there is an error, and it buggers off to find another victim.

I posted in another forum about this a while ago, and I'll see if I can find the post and copy it here. The more people that know of it, the better, methinks.

*It's my asthma, honest!!

[postggj]

Re: hotmail hijack

thanks people

next question

how is microsoft allowed to run an operating system that can be hacked for what ever reason by a worm,virus, etc, etc

and not be held accountable

[Bill-K]

Re: hotmail hijack

Can't answer that one - I guess you'll have to ask the 'Other' Bill that question (Bill-G)

[Happyolddog]

Re: hotmail hijack

Can't answer that one - I guess you'll have to ask the 'Other' Bill that question (Bill-G)

Never heard of him!

[Gorang]

Re: hotmail hijack

Bill G = Bill Gates Owner of microsoft
(I am assuming anyway............but knowing that big ape he will prob come back and prove me wrong.................just cause he can................lol)

how is microsoft allowed to run an operating system that can be hacked for what ever reason by a worm,virus, etc, etc

I'll try answering this one with a question
Do you know of ANY system that has NOT been hacked since it was invented? ?

the excuse that springs to mind is, we are doing our best to make our systems unhackable

I have heard stories that they even pay peeps to go out and CREATE viruses so they can then sell more products to stop the viruses that they paid for to be created

That is my opinion and how I see it anyway, as virus protection is HUGE business and prob bigger business by 10 fold than the operating systems, so they make a lot more money from "CURING" the viruses

[Bill-K]

Re: hotmail hijack

Never heard of him!

Hi HOD old pal - nice to see a riposte from your good self !!!

Bill G = Bill Gates Owner of microsoft
(I am assuming anyway............but knowing that big ape he will prob come back and prove me wrong.................just cause he can................lol)
LOL - Yeah, that's the guy. He doesn't post in here very often, though...
I'll try answering this one with a question
Do you know of ANY system that has NOT been hacked since it was invented? ?

the excuse that springs to mind is, we are doing our best to make our systems unhackable

I have heard stories that they even pay peeps to go out and CREATE viruses so they can then sell more products to stop the viruses that they paid for to be created

That is my opinion and how I see it anyway, as virus protection is HUGE business and prob bigger business by 10 fold than the operating systems, so they make a lot more money from "CURING" the viruses
Call it the 'Grumpy Old Man' in me, but I'm inclined to agree with you there, Mr G.