Here's the text of an email I found today in my spam folder:
Call was lost, as usual.Ok. I don't have much time, so let's get straight to the point.I want to make you an offer that you can refuse, but only once.Here's what I have:Your complete personal information: full name, date of birth, home address.Your social security number and driver's license details.All your email account login credentials, including this account.Other login details and your private messages.A multitude of files found on your devices.Access to your bank accounts.The details of your credit cards: number, expiry date, and cvv.I have compiled this entire package into a single folder. I can and intend to do two things with it. It is up to you to decide which one:I will send this entire package to darknet markets, where other criminals will buy it.It is unknown how they will use this information. They may purchase something illegal in your name, or they may not, but you will definitely not like it.Or you can buy it from me for a small fee of 600 usd.Changing the entire package of documents and data is very expensive, very time-consuming, and unsafe.I already know that you have just read this text. Do not try to ignore this.I only accept payment in bitcoins at the exchange rate at the time of transfer.Transfer money here: [redacted for posting]After payment, I will delete the folder containing your data, and you can continue living as before or, if you don't trust me, take your time changing all your data. It's more profitable for me if you pay me. It's easier and better for everyone.This is a unique offer. Take advantage of it. I will wait for 1 day.
The "from" address was one of my own email addresses.
How very Tyler Durden of you to send yourself that.
ReplyDeleteCodex: Are you sure?
ReplyDeleteWas it spelled exactly the same?
Any idea how they did this?
I think so, but I can't double-check because it's been vaporized from the spam folder. Not sure about the "how" - other readers here may know.
DeleteCodex if it's off by a letter nothing to worry about. If it's the exact same there's a bigger problem.
DeleteTake a pic next time then get rid of it.
Spoofing a sender address is trivial. There are two "From" addresses in every email. The one you see is called the "friendly From" or "header From". You can put anything you like in that field. The other is the "envelope From" or "mail From". This one usually gets authenticated by the sending and/or receiving system and these days is very hard to spoof.
DeleteThe one thing you can be fairly certain of is that this is a complete bluff and didn't originate from your own mail account.
I regularly get emails from myself. It's pretty trivial to spoof an email. It would be pretty surprising to see one from a second email that I own though.
Deletelol, uncharacteristically literate for the genre
ReplyDeleteI’ve got a few of those emails. It’s extremely disconcerting the first time when it appears to come from your own email.
ReplyDeleteSpammers can make an email look like it came from your address by forging the “From” field—this is called email spoofing, and it does not require access to your account. Email was built on an old protocol (SMTP) that does not verify the sender address by default. Because of this, a spammer can configure their mail‑sending software or server to insert any address they want into the “From” field—just like writing any return address on a physical envelope.
ReplyDeleteCodex tru but you can still see legit domains if modernized.
DeleteA number of famous writers that are online are having similar problems. Seems to come in waves.
Have you experienced "flattery phishing" yet? In the past 10 days I've gotten 3 emails, usually along the lines of "wow, I've looked you up online and you're amazing. Can you tell me how you......?" It's an attempt to engage you in what looks like intellectual discourse, but in fact they're playing a long game. Get you talking, develop trust and then start either getting personal info from you or start asking for little favors that get bigger and...... These get through most filters because the information they contain is mostly yours! But if you're paranoid you quickly realize they're not identifying themselves at all; google the sender and you won't find any other real person's information present. It's a type of phishing that's gone exponential in academic setting in just the last month. Be ready........
ReplyDelete