E-mail Scams - Beware!

How many times do we need to be warned?

I received the following e-mail today:

Good day,
As requested I give you Invoices issued to you per Aug.

Regards

KARLYN Collins

The e-mail had an attachment, a zip file attachment:

Invoice_08.29.2011_B4293.zip

Even though I KNOW BETTER, I was sorely tempted to click on the link to see what it was. I actually did click on the link, but stopped the process when my zip program asked for permission. These things are powerfully seductive. One feels the need to check it just to see.

In this case, yesterday I had actually called one of the companies with whom I do business and asked about an invoice number. Today this e-mail arrives in my inbox.

But I did not ask for an invoice. I asked for an invoice #. Moreover, I did not give my e-dresses. Yes, this was sent to two of my e-dresses. This was a red flag, but I was tempted to check the attachment anyway. Thankfully, I did not open it.

I did, however, investigate further. I clicked on the “view” tab and then selected “headers all” to reveal all of the header information for the e-mail. The sender was listed as:

jf7Ph6Yn4ICollins@alltree.net

All Tree is my company name. Alltree.net is my domain name. I did not send myself an e-mail with an attached zip file.

Moreover, all of the red flags were present.

* Uninvited and unexpected attached file
* Bad grammar
* Bad punctuation and capitalization
* False e-dress
* Nondescript information
* Unidentified sender/company

A little later, the company that I called yesterday returned my call and answered my question and confirmed that no e-mails were sent by them.

The bottom line is that we must beware. Never open an e-mail attached file unless the sender is a trusted acquaintance who previously informed of the sending of this attachment. NEVER.

Especially never open zip files sent as attachments in e-mails. There is absolutely no reason for an invoice to be sent as a zip file. A PDF file is the standard. But zip files can contain viruses and other malware.

I still am amazed at the power of my curiosity. “Who sent it?” “What is it?” “Just check to see who sent it.”

NO! Don’t be stupid! Leave it alone! Delete it! Do not open it or click on it!

I have heard this hundreds of times. I know this is the right response. Yet the temptation remains strong.

Such is the nature of temptation. The right answer to temptation is always “NO!”

† † †

My apologies for the big bank scam

Since the big bankers, mostly credit card bankers, have violated their contract and promise not to allow my on-line information to be released, I have been receiving dozens of e-mails attempting to sell me various kinds of garbage. The primary volume of garbage involves enlargement of a certain bodily organ.

Moreover, each of these e-mails has had an attached file that my anti-virus program identifies and quarantines as malware.

Some of these e-mails are using my name and e-mail and host provider. I have contacted my host provider about this issue, but have not heard from them yet.

In case anyone has received this garbage with my name and e-mail, please know that I did not send it. (My computer is not infected.)

It angers me that the US government allows these bankers to get away with yet another scam. They claim that their data was hacked from the outside. This is about as likely as catching an STD from a toilet seat. (It does not happen.)

As a reminder to all, unexpected e-mails that have attachments should always be treated as a threat. NEVER click on an attachment that is not expected, as the malware can be set into action by opening the attachment.

If anyone has received any of this garbage with my e-mail address as the sender, please forgive me for my inability to prevent the misuse of my name and e-mail address.

. . .

Hungry Kenyans

The day before my birthday I received an e-mail from a man in Kenya by the name of Eric. He told me that he had visited our web site and found what is posted there to be inspiring and encouraging and therefore was contacting me to teach them the Word of God.

The little congregation is hungry, very hungry. They are hungry to be fed the Word of God for their salvation and comfort. They have encountered the pretense of the many churches, the hypocrisy of one thing being professed as official doctrine, but another thing being practiced in the various congregations. So they are gathered together in the hope of hearing the Truth and walking in Him.

Money is an issue for them. Their pastor, Eric, earns $1.00 per day digging for people. He walks 15 kilometers to town to rent computer and Internet time at the cyber café and then walks home again. He checks his e-mail every day to see what new information I have sent to him. If I miss a day or two he wonders whether I am OK. It makes my heart hurt to realize that I failed him. I think of these dear people continually, but sometimes I have no new things to send and fail to take into account that they are looking for daily communication.

How many people in America would walk 15 km, that is, 9.32 miles, in order to receive little bits of new teaching concerning the Gospel? How many Americans would take from their grocery money in order to pay to download such bits of teaching concerning the Gospel?

Stephanie and I can relate somewhat. Yet I am amazed at the desire of these dear people for the Word. And they are indeed in need. They have no Bibles. They have no hymnals. Moreover, what they receive from me is in English, which is not their native tongue. Yet they say that they rejoice to receive what I send them. Pastor Eric downloads my sermon each week, pays to print it, and then delivers it the following Sunday to the congregation. Some of the older people do not know English, so he has to translate and explain parts of it for them.

I am amazed that they say that they understand the sermons. People in America have criticized me for being too deep for them. Yet these people in another land and of another tongue say that they are benefitting. All that I can say to this is: Thanks be to God!

Thus far I have been able to print the Enchiridion from the Concordia Triglot for them and have sent them some copies. I also received from the Lutheran Heritage foundation a copy of the Enchiridion in Swahili, which they graciously gave me permission to reprint freely. I have scanned it and formatted it for a larger print booklet and have printed it and sent some copies as well. Through Biblica in Nairobi I have been able to purchase and send 3 copies of a Kiswahili Reference Bible along with 3 paperback KJV Bibles. None of these have yet arrived, but they are eagerly awaiting their delivery.

This is all that Stephanie and I have been able to do so far. We would like to do more. Perhaps in time we will have some more funds available. Sadly, the bills and debts must be paid. But at least the dear people will now have the Scriptures available to share in together, and copies of the Enchiridion (the Small Catechism) for their growth in understanding the Faith.

Much of my free time has gone toward these efforts. It is exciting to be a part in such an opportunity for the Gospel. It is a great joy to observe people who are hungry for the Gospel.

Technical Support Warning

Beware of Technical Support.

Yesterday I spent a great deal of time trying to learn why some of my E-mail messages are being lost in cyberspace. Where are they going? Why are they disappearing?

I checked my computer and the connections. No problems that I could find.

I called AT&T, my service provider. The Customer Service/Technical Support staffer could not be understood. I had to ask over and over that the information be repeated. I had to repeat very easily understood information multiple times and still the person did not understand.

This happened on more than one phone call.

Once I was transferred to a “second level” support person, who likewise spoke very poor English.

Once the person asked for my Social Security number. I refused to give it, saying there was no reason to request it. After denying to give it serveral times, finally the person continued.

Later, the support person wanted me to let him log onto my computer. I refused.

Who is this person? Where is this person? What information would he download without my knowledge?

He said that he could not help me without doing this.

I asked what it would entail.

He told me that I would have to download and install Active X software, which would give him access to my computer.

Funny. He was speaking clearly and also understood me clearly at this point.

No way!

No way in the world!

How many people have had their information stolen by such support people?

I don’t know, but I am not going to find out first hand.

When I demanded to know where this support person was located, he said that he was in San Antonio, Texas. He sounded Indian to me, but then he may have been an illegal alien from almost anywhere, hired by AT&T.

But this really is not the point.

Should I give such trust to someone I don’t know? Should I give such a person absolute and unrestricted access to my computer? Should I entrust that level of control to anyone?

Should you?

Postcard Virus Warning

Today I received an E-mail from a dear friend wherein a warning is posted regarding a virus that is being spread cloaked in the form of E-mail Postcards from family and friends. The warning has some important errors, however, and this information should be corrected.

While Snopes lists this as a real virus, they also correct the misinformation. Below is a quote from the end of the Snopes article.

Although the Postcard virus is real, it isn't a "BIG VIRUS COMING" (it's already been around in multiple forms for a long time now), it will not "burn the whole hard disc" of your computer, CNN didn't classify it as the "worst virus" ever, and it doesn't arrive in messages bearing a subject line of 'Invitation.'

To read the full article, which is a very good idea: Snopes Postcard Virus Article. The article was updated on May 14, 2008.