Warning to AOL Subscribers: Watch Out for Scam
 

Just a word of caution: Earlier today, I got an email supposedly from AOL saying there was some problem with my records and payment for the month of August and that I should fill out the attached form with all my credit information! Sure!!!!!!!!! So, be careful folks.

Thanks - sounds like a similar scam run on ebay accounts - we got a similar email a few months back supposedly from ebay asking for same info.

Few days ago I got something similar from Aetna, which is my dental insurance. SCARY!!! Luckily, heard warnings from Fodorites, so didn't open those.

An e-mail, looking official, with an official-looking address can come from anybody! I'm getting them from banks I don't have accounts with, from websites like PriceLine which I'd never visited.

We get those from PayPal, eBay, AOL, credit card companies - all bogus of course, but sometimes they are very convincing. Scary! They are taking over email.

This one was very convincing, with all the appropriate logos, symbols, etc., etc., etc.

I have comcast and the same happen. I did not open it but called Comcast and of course it was a scam. The email looked so real with the exact logo and everything.

Howard, one I got from eBay was so official that I called to verify it. It was bogus, but looked totally authentic. They took my information and the web address, checked while I was on the phone, and the site had already closed. The fraud person told me they are up [online] usually less than 8 hours and then close so fast that catching them is difficult.

I would have never known to check if I'd not read posts like yours. Thanks!

I'm glad you recognized the message as phishing. For others, this is what I do: Right-click on the message in my inbox and click on Properties. That will tell you right away if the message is phony. But click on Details anyway. I have found that messages purportedly from PayPal, Comcast, Washington Mutual, etc actually come from Russia or Poland. Hard to believe, but the ubiquitous MBNA, home of many affiliation credit cards, actually sends real e-mails out to their customers...who promptly delete them as suspicious, I hope.

This scam is called 'phishing'. If you google it you'll find a lot of info on the subject. When it started they were very crudely done, but they have become more and more sophisticated to the point that they are almost indistinguishible from the real thing. However, your bank, credit card company and other services will never ask you to provide your password at any point except when you're logging into their services.

Never click on a link located in an email from a business. Even if it looks official it could be phishing. Put the web address that you are familiar with in your own browser. If you haven't already noticed you should be aware that 2 "v" s appearing together look like a "w" and that's how lots of the phishing works.

Thanks for the additional info, Jean. Yes, I know it's called "phishing," but I figured I'd use the less-technical term ("scam") to make sure that everyone knew what I was talking about.

I think anyone that has email address is subject to getting these things. Most of them come from places you don't even have accounts.

I recently got one from Wells Fargo where I DO have an account. It sure looked real to me! But Suzie has the right answer-- close the email and log onto the real site yourself as you normally do. Most websites have info on them about phishing and the ones they know about. I also forwarded the email to Wells Fargo to let them see it. Sadly, I'd hoped they would mail out a warning but they did not do so. What tipped me off was that it came to an email address of mine that is not the one I use for official email addresses.

So here is a suggestion...I have 1 email account that is "real" and is used for my legit emails and another that is used for "casual use" and then I have one for when I need to give an email for some online purpose. I know it is a pain to have 3, but on AOL you can switch easily and see other accounts.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Thanks HowardR for the warning!
((S))((*))

Here's a simple rule: no legitimate company will EVER send you an e-mail asking you to input private information at theirs or ANY Internet site. If you get any such e-mail, do NOT respond to it under ANY circumstances. If you are convinced that you are getting a real e-mail from a company, phone them.

I get phished about once a month, including for banks I didn't even know existed. A couple times I responded with nasty inputs (Name: U. R. Idiots) and immediately disconnected (thus changing my IP Address), but even this got tiring after awhile.

Scroll your mouse over the hyperlink and you can see the actual address. For instance, the link may read like this:

www.bankofamerica.com/onlinebanking.html

but when you scroll over it says

www.xjnsg.jp/bankofamerica
or some other address. (I totally made that address up by the way!)

TTT~
Thanks for the heads up HowardR.