FWD with odd message re possible scam

14 years ago

I have gotten a FWD, (no long list of addys) with a lot of old photos.

At the top of the pics there is a small red shield with an exclamation mark. Next to that in small text is "This message may be a scam. Disable scam detection for all messages.)

These are a variety of early pics (nothing off base) made in 1887-1900's, some, or all, by Harris & Ewing. Buildings, street car, people, Indians, etc.

Would you Delete, or Disable, then look at the photos, or look without disabling? I've never gotten anything with a message like that before.

TIA

Sue

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Comments (9)

sushipup1
14 years ago
I'd delete.
DA_Mccoy
14 years ago
You didn't say as to whether this forward was from someone known or not. So for a moment I have to assume it is not. So I ask, why did you even open it? The threat may already be released. Time and time again members are warned not to open unknown and unsolicited e-mails. Certainly this could be a harmless e-mail, but next time it may not.

I am not fan of forwarded e-mails even from known individuals as it is great source of system infection. I have even created message rules that automatically routes sends all forwards to trash. However,if this e-mail was from a known individual, and if you are a user who "enjoys" forwards the decision is yours. But, so also is the risk.

Please be careful.

DA
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MtnRwdux, that would've happened to you at my house. I never ever answer the door to strangers. I don't care what you look like. If it's daylight, I may go to the door, which is glass, with my 100 lb barking black lab, to see who it is and if I don't know them, I tell them I don't open the door to strangers so if they have something they want to tell me, they can leave literature at the door. Nothing irritates me more than someone coming uninvited to my door at dinner hour. Coincidentally, just this evening I saw someone get scammed right in front of our grocery store! As I was leaving, I saw a man b/w 40-50 yrs old with wallet in hand talking with a young girl who appeared to be in her 20s. She was dressed "nicely" in loose cotton shirt with long summery cotton skirt, blond hair in a loose bun. I didn't think much of it as I passed by them and then noticed a guy in an unrecognizable uniform heading toward us, about 50 ft away. I thought he was just going shopping, but then I hear him suddenly yell, "you need to leave the property immediately. You are not allowed here. Get out of here now!" She kind of took off and the man was standing there bewildered. It hit me that she must pave given him a sob story needing money. I've never seen security there before but wonder if this has been a problem lately so they hired someone. Odd. Two,summers ago, I was approached by a man and his son outside a hotel in NJ. I had just checked in and went out to the car to get a few things. We were there for a soccer tournament so,the area was unfamiliar. He gave me some song and dance about needing a few dollars for gas, but I've heard about these kind of scammers before so I politely refused. I then went back inside and reported to hotel staff. My elderly parents got the IRS scam call. They are both totally "with it" and my mother had a nice argument with a guy with a strong Indian accent. She basically told him to go ahead and send the cops..she wasn't worried about getting arrested. I do worry as they age that they might not be so smart.
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I follow this practice as a matter of course: Never, ever click on any links you are not 100 percent certain are legit. I even take it further and often delete suspicious emails I receive without reading them. Furthermore I use a third party email client, and have remote content in email disabled, and have javascript disabled by default everywhere and have other high-security/high-privacy settings in the browser I use. But I've never really understood the dangers of clicking on a link in email, or more specifically how clicking on a link in an email would be any different from clicking any link anywhere. Elmer wrote: Links in such emails may lead to a malware download or just be an effort to take visitors to a website Maybe it is merely that the measures I have already taken somewhat de-fang the possibility of malware download, and phishing attempts seem that they would require you to enter information into the website that was linked to, (which I'm not likely to do). Thinking about it, one possibility that would still be a valid danger is that if the link contained some indication of the email address to which the message was sent, then clicking it would inform them that it is an actively used email account, and make you the target for even more spam and phishing. <-- yeah, don't want that.
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sushipup1
14 years ago
But even a well-known correspondent can have their address book compromised and email sent our in their name.

I delete and reply to the sender that I don't do forwarded emails. Period. Let them write you directly and cut and paste the info or whatever.
sue_va
Original Author
14 years ago
Sorry. I should have said that it is from a friend who often sends me interesting emails, some of which have been forwarded to him. So far there has never been a problem with any of them. I do enjoy hearing humorous or meaningful stories from others, and seeing pictures that I wouldn't see otherwise.

I just thought the message about deleting or disabling was strange.

Sue
sushipup1
14 years ago
So is the message related to your own antivirus software? Or ask your friend if that came when he got the email.
DA_Mccoy
14 years ago
Again, please be careful.

Forwards are right up there in risk with free smiley faces and fonts. Plus as SP reported, hijacked address books have been around since Noah and the ark landed.

DA
sue_va
Original Author
14 years ago
Sushipup, your question about being related to my antivirus made me think. I looked back and saw that there was not the usual checked by avg message at the end. So I looked at View Source and at the top, just below the senders info, there is this, which I copied

To:
Subject: Fw: Some great old photographs
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:34:45 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="----=_NextPart_000_01A6_01CCF4AC.EE9CD6B0"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
Importance: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Windows Live Mail 14.0.8117.416
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V14.0.8117.416
X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 120226-3, 02/26/2012), Inbound message
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

Interesting, but now I wonder why the usual checked by avg message wasn't there?

Sue
owbist
14 years ago
I would write an email to the sender asking them if they did indeed send it and if so to forward it again perhaps.

As you appear to be using Windows Live you could right click on the header and click to show message source but as it is a bunch of photos you would see 5 yards of gibberish.

Your friend is using AVG? You show as having an up to date version of Avast running.
sue_va
Original Author
14 years ago
Owbist, as it happened I saw the sender this afternoon at a meeting. He did send it to me. The strange, to me, message, was there when he got it.

I use Thunderbird; he uses Microsoft Windows Live Mail. Yes, I use Avast. I forgot to ask him what he uses. I'm guessing AVG.

I have not sent this on to anyone and now will delete it. I wanted some thoughts and opinions from my friends here since that message was so odd.

CompHelp is my go-to site when I need help, and I appreciate it very much.

Thanks to all of you.

Sue

FWD with odd message re possible scam

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FWD with odd message re possible scam

Comments (9)

sushipup1

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