Hoaxes, Spams & Scams

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
This section of Cyber Top Cops is no longer maintained and has been replaced by the SHPAMEE Project.

The purpose of this section is not to list every possible hoax, spam or scam e-mail, but to educate users on how to identify them, by looking for certain characteristics and using a little common sense.

The following articles provide some insight into the problems and dangers of e-mail scams, hoaxes and spam and how to avoid them:

• Smelling A Hoax A Mile Away By Using A Little Common Sense: A step-by-step explanation how to identify a hoax.
• Protocol Against Spam: Taking a look at some of the methods used to prevent spam from landing in our inboxes.
• Don't Become A Victim Of Identity Theft: Prevent your identity from being stolen
• Cyber Crime Made Easier Through Impersonality: The reasons why it so easy to commit cyber crime
• The Dangers Of Chain Letters And Petition Lists: These popular e-mails are not as harmless as you my think.
• The Key To Beating Spam: Ways of treating and preventing spam contamination.

The examples listed below should give you a good idea of what the most common hoaxes, spams and scams look like.

Hoaxes and Spams

• Chain Letter Spam & Hoaxes
• Malware Spam
• Stock Market Spam

E-mail Scams

• Advance Fee Fraud
  • 419 Scams a.k.a Nigerian 419 Scams
  • Lottery Scams (Common examples)
• Phishing Scams / Web Forgery
  • Amazon Phishing Scams (Common examples)
  • Banking Phishing Scams (Common examples)
  • eBay Phishing Scams (Common examples)
  • Home Loan Phishing Scams (Common examples)
  • IRS Phishing Scams (Common examples)
  • PayPal Phishing Scams (Common examples)
• Other Miscellaneous Scams
  • University Degree Scams and Diploma Mills

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Phishing Scams

MillerSmiles.co.uk - The webs dedicated anti-phishing service :: Scam Alert Service

27 June 2009 customer message Information about your cahoot account
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Account Status Notification

Your account has been accessed from an unauthorized computer
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT
We recently reviewed your account, and we are suspecting that your PayPal account may have been accessed from an unauthorized computer.

Verify Your Account :-
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT
To ensure your protection, we've now blocked access to your accounts.

Cahoot Online Autorization
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Due to the high number of fraud attempts and phishing scams, it has been decided to implement EV SSL Certification on this Internet Banking website.

Tax Refund Notification
Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Tax Refund Notification

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Phishing News

MillerSmiles.co.uk Phishing News Service

MillerSmiles cited in Vista book
Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT
MillerSmiles is cited in the popular "Windows Vista for Dummies"

Yahoo phishing flaw revealed
Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT
Researcher finds major phishing flaw in Yahoo network

Anti-Phishing Browsers Not Working
Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT
A new report from Harvard University finds browser-based anti-phishing warnings have little effect

Keylogging Website Trend
Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT
Experts say website vulnerabilities are leading to a rise in online keylogging

Facebook Phishing
Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT
Social networking sites like Facebook are helping the phishers