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Normally I wouldn't encourage any form of spam but after hearing about elderly people who have fallen for the Nigerian email scam I decided it might be a good idea for the ISP's to send out a bulk spam every now and then describing this hoax and others like it so people won't get robbed. Who knows,
if it cuts down on the number of people falling for the scams then we might all benefit. Theoretically if the scammers stopped finding victims they'd stopped sending spam, there being no profit in it.
Snopes
http://www.snopes.com/
Debunkers of internet scams & hoaxes. [DrBob, Nov 29 2006]
[link]
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Spam is still spam, even the supposedly helpful "do not open an email titled "xxxx" as it may contain a virus". It still increases cost, system load and bandwidth usage. |
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If people fall for the Nigerian scam, i'm sorry but they are both stupid and greedy. It's kind of obvious that (a) if someone promises you something for nothing it probably IS too good to be true and, (b) these emails reek of dubious legality (c) all the respondent is after is free money of dubious source. |
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It does make me wonder, at what point will enough people have gotten wise to the scam idea before it stops becoming cost effective for the perpetrators to continue doing it? |
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Or maybe it already isn't and the scammers are hoping to strike it lucky - like playing the lottery. |
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If this second possibility is correct, then even if nobody ever falls for it, we may have to resign ourselves to receiving capitalised requests in perpetuity. |
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maybe I'm getting old, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate between some phishing scam spam and genuine notices (particularly the PayPal ones - you'll know what I'm talking about if you've got one). |
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Some ISPs already send out monthly news updates, albeit for advertising their own products rather than scam prevention. The kind of update described here sounds much more useful. |
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I see no reason why this couldn't or shouldn't be done. In fact although 'spam' is still the correct term it feels wrong in this context. [+] |
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//If people fall for the Nigerian scam, i'm sorry but they are both stupid and greedy.// |
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Unfortunately there are some nasty, more sophisticated (and often targeted) variations of the scam which ask people to help someone for little to no ultimate reward. |
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[xaviergisz], I know what you mean. I plan to use that as an excuse if I run into financial difficulties. "You say you emailed me a final demand for payment two months ago? Oh, sorry, I thought it was one of those phishing emails." |
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Doesn't work. The bastards also send it on paper, through the post. |
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Hmm, true. Clearly we need a much more active phishing-by-post industry, so we can start ignoring their letters, too. |
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Failing that, posting them a cheque but 'forgetting' to sign it can buy a few more days' grace. |
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//If people fall for the Nigerian scam, i'm sorry but they are both stupid and greedy// |
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You left out desperate, naive and overly religious. The combination could make someone think the Nigerian email was an answer to their prayers (and they would sincerely think so). |
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//maybe I'm getting old, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate between some phishing scam spam and genuine noices// |
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Easy way to solve that, don't view/accept HTML email. |
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//Unfortunately there are some nasty, more sophisticated (and often targeted) variations of the scam which ask people to help someone for little to no ultimate reward// |
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I still don't find them convincing, but then I work in the IT security industry. |
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//Failing that, posting them a cheque but 'forgetting' to sign it can buy a few more days' grace// |
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From experience - most banks will still clear a cheque even if it is unsigned, undated, date in future etc. I have had this happen to me. |
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The thing about the internet is that there's no central point of convergence that guarantees everyone will see a certain thing. Emails from ISPs often go ignored, especially when seemingly addressed to the customer base at large. A specific web page telling people about these scams and others like them will not be guaranteed to be seen by everyone. My web consumption footprint is likely to be quite different from other people, and I'll totally miss things that others are saturated by. The diversity of exposure facets is so large. |
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I reckon this sort of information has to go through an entirely alternative channel entirely - ie, not internet. |
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Ian - There are 3 or 4 main antivirus packages out there. Maybe they could have a scam alert flag included in the package. When set on, any new scams, or significant ongoing scams, would be emailed to the user periodically during the LiveUpdate process. If the package default was set to Y then experienced users could skip these public service spams simply by turning the flag off. |
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It is up to the user, not the ISP to take a responsibility for personal security and safety, in the same way as it is your responsibility to decide whether junkmail put through your door is of use to you or not. Many think that real-life rules do not apply to the internet and that they can ignore common sense. |
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It has been wideley agreed by ebay, the banks, paypal etc. that they will never ask for your information or even ask you to login via a link that is sent via email. You should always type the URL of the site you require in a new browser window. |
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As I have already mentioned, turning off "view emails in html" by default will make most of these scams transparent as they rely on the HTML to trick you, if you read them as plaintext it becomes obvious. Also, most scam emails do not include a plaintext portion (i.e. multipart/alternative) and this is often a good pointer that the email is of dubious intent. |
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Again ebay, paypay, the banks, etc. now have a "my messages" system within their web interface and any communication should also be mirrored here. If it is not, it is not legitimate. |
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longshot9999, - antivirus packages? |
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Ian - Yes. Norton, MacAffee, Pencillin, etc... (I guess I should have said programs instead of packages though.) |
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The new spam alert feature could also have a check box in an 'I understand' column that you could mark off to keep from seeing an alert for a scam you understand. |
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I think it's interesting how spam (and regular junk mail) has trivialised both of these mediums to the extent that people just don't take any notice anymore. Now there are people offering you special offers when you call up your bank to ask your balance, and I can't walk from the office to the nearest pub without being offered at least 5 free newspapers. Again, I've learnt to blank these annoyances from my conciousness - but in this time where so many communication channels are being misused, I wonder what media people do still take notice of? |
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I'm thinking advertising girfriends might be a good one - they act just like real girfriends only they are sponsored by numerous brands to promote their myriad products.
"Oh, just try this aftershave Tom, it smells dreamy!"
"Oh, you look so manly in your <brandname> socks Tom!"
"Oh Tom, your skin is all rough and pitted, have you tried <brandname> cleanser?"
"Oh Tom, have you ever thought of driving a <brandname>? They're really not as crap as people think!" |
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longshot9999, - Oh right, I see the connection. I don't use antivirus packages. A lot of people would be left out of the loop if this was the information channel, but I suppose it can't harm, either, as an additional informative means. |
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I reckon a television advertising campaign might help. |
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You can get information about current scams on several websites. Some of the biggest ones do make national news too. Most make tech. news or Slashdot in some form or other. |
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But normal people don't go there, or have
even ever heard of them. There's no
unified convergence point on the internet. |
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my mother loves spam - she buys a tin
of it every week when I take her
shopping. |
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//There's no unified convergence point on the internet// |
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Yep, and thats one of the best things about the Internet. |
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//My web consumption footprint is likely to be quite different from other people, and I'll totally miss things that others are saturated by. The diversity of exposure facets is so large. //
I love it when you talk dirty Mr Tindale.
I find Snopes to be the most reliable source for checking up on scams & hoaxes (linky). |
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