Email hacking

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I just figured out something that undoubtedly scammers are using. I received an email from a friend asking for help in buying Google Play Store gift cards to give to a sick relative. The name and email address were legitimate and were what I had used in communication with this friend a few years ago. After a couple of email exchanges I realized this was a scam. My brother also got the identical email. What I think may have happened is this. GW is an older person who is now living with her daughter and is suffering memory problems. I'm guessing she has given up using this particular email address and maybe even canceled it. Someone found it and registered it as their own. The domain part of an email does not mean that is where the email is hosted. There are forwarding methods available. The scammer then uses the email to send out phishing emails that appear to come from a legit person and address, and bingo, hauls in the $$.

Since it is impossible to erase an email address the best thing to do is hang onto an address as long as you can, even if you don't use it. If the email host, or apparent host, domain drops all use of the domain for email addresses then there would be nothing to worry about. Such is the case with CableOne.net, now called Sparklight. Several years ago they discontinued hosting emails but set up a forwarding service to Gmail, the company to whom they transferred all the email systems. This made it so that users of @cableone.net did not have to change their email address. But Sparklight is discontinuing that service totally, region by region. What that means is eventually any email directed to an @cableone.net address will go to the big bit bucket in the sky.

[ARtraveler]

Red flag situation. Any one asking you to send "gift cards" to help someone out or to pay a fee to win prize money, etc. usually turns out to be a scam. They are good, secure money for the crooks.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

What really nearly tripped me up on this one was the apparently legitimate email and name. I didn't see anything suspicious when I looked at the detailed header info for the email. The real red flag for me was when they said they had trouble trying to buy the cards from Amazon. Trouble buying from Amazon? Give me a break, or is it because you're a crook!

What I really want folks to be aware of is don't be fooled when the email supposedly comes from a known legit friend with a legit email address. Even the routing info in the email header didn't look suspicious on its face.

[WilcoJunoHotel]

This has been happening for years with businesses. They spoof an email address so that it looks like it is coming from a legitimate sender.

This happened to my business and our company email got blacklisted so that even legitimate email was "blocked" by our customers.

There is no protection against this unless everyone that receives an email looks at the email "header" to see where the email actually came from - The FROM: email address can be spoofed but where it originated cannot.

Usually these emails have poor grammar or have bogus links that go to malware or phishing sites but a few, like what happened here, appear to be coming from a real person.