Scam warning: "Wine Lovers" phishing E-mail

[Robin Garr]

<b>Scam warning!</b>

We've learned that one in a series of new viral or "phishing" scams going around the Internet this week starts with the greeting, "<i>Welcome! We are so happy you joined Wine Lovers</i>." This scam E-mail goes on to provide a purported user number, temporary login ID and password, and provides a cryptic, numerical link that the user is invited to click in order to enter a permanent user name and password.

Please be aware that this communication does not come from WineLoversPage.com and has no connection with us. Our business name is a registered trademark; however, the common words "wine lovers" are in the public domain. Moreover, "Wine Lovers" is only one of many similar scam mails in this series, which also includes "Dog Lovers," "Joke World," "Poker World" and many more.

Still, because our site comes up first on Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL searches for "wine lovers," we're getting a lot of queries about this, and I thought it would be a good idea to issue a warning. It's not us. And we recommend that you delete such mails promptly.

<b>Scam warning!</b>

We've learned that one in a series of new viral or "phishing" scams going around the Internet this week starts with the greeting, "<i>Welcome! We are so happy you joined Wine Lovers</i>." This scam E-mail goes on to provide a purported user number, temporary login ID and password, and provides a cryptic, numerical link that the user is invited to click in order to enter a permanent user name and password.

Please be aware that this communication does not come from WineLoversPage.com and has no connection with us. Our business name is a registered trademark; however, the common words "wine lovers" are in the public domain. Moreover, "Wine Lovers" is only one of many similar scam mails in this series, which also includes "Dog Lovers," "Joke World," "Poker World" and many more.

Still, because our site comes up first on Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL searches for "wine lovers," we're getting a lot of queries about this, and I thought it would be a good idea to issue a warning. It's not us. And we recommend that you delete such mails promptly.

I've already gotten the email. Like all the rest of them, I zapped it.

I've taken the attitude online that I take via postal and telephone: if I do not initiate the contact, I do not respond to it.

I am waiting for the e-mail from "Wine Lovers" telling me that they need help in moving $1 million out of their country and it could all be mine!!!!

I am waiting for the e-mail from "Wine Lovers" telling me that they need help in moving $1 million out of their country and it could all be mine!!!!

That is not what most of these email are doing. They are intended for you to click on the link so that they can get access to your computer files and possibly your identity.

I've heard that these things are going to get worse over 2008, although I cannot imagine how worse it can be. I receive at least 100 a day now. Luckily, most of them are caught for me by my IP server who provides a filter, but the scammers keep creating new ways to evade the filters too.

One would think that by now this crap would be unprofitable, but apparently it isn't. They manage to snag enough people to keep on doing it.

[Robin Garr]

I am waiting for the e-mail from "Wine Lovers" telling me that they need help in moving $1 million out of their country and it could all be mine!!!!

I can help you with that, Bruce ... just E-mail me your banking information ...

I've taken the attitude online that I take via postal and telephone: if I do not initiate the contact, I do not respond to it.

Just think if your correspondents take the same attitude, perfect isolation!

Thanks Robin for warning. Most of these things are so clumsy as to be laughable, but some look realistic. If you think you're getting an email from an organization you do business with, good to preview link carefully to see where it goes (http://www.5477789.citibank.com is very different from citibank.com). And it's always good to file reports to www. antiphishing.org.

Some advice here:


http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html

If you think you're getting an email from an organization you do business with, good to preview link carefully to see where it goes (http://www.5477789.citibank.com is very different from citibank.com).

Good advice, Dale, but not the best example: your "bogus" site would have to be hosted on one of Citibank's servers. A more realistic example is something like:

http://www.phishingsite.com/robmeblind. ... tibank.com

(In this case, you are executing a script on phishingsite.com's server and what looks like a Citibank URL is simply fed to the script.)

Mark Lipton

I am waiting for the e-mail from "Wine Lovers" telling me that they need help in moving $1 million out of their country and it could all be mine!!!!

Bruce, I have a friend in Nigeria that needs to transport a million barrels of oil out to Ontario. You wanna be the contact buddy?

In a weird coincidence, not 5 minutes after posting to this thread, one of those emails hit my Inbox. Alas, I got a "Cat Lovers" phishing scam, so I guess that I don't qualify as a true wine geek

Mark Lipton

I've taken the attitude online that I take via postal and telephone: if I do not initiate the contact, I do not respond to it.

Just think if your correspondents take the same attitude, perfect isolation!

I don't see it as isolation not to respond to unwanted solicitation; I see it as wise, especially if the emailers ask me to click to links to update my life for their files. I certainly don't ask my correspondents to do such things.

Thomas,
I was just joking re your wording, I knew what you meant. But as written it implied no answers to ANY email, not just commercial solicitations.

Mark,
indeed I left out a slash. But point was they often use mostly numeric addresses (info376.com) or plain IP addreses (107.45.67.89) instead of something that might send flags. I should have said "107.45.67.89/citibankcom/fraudprevention" is very different from citibank.com"

Thomas,
I was just joking re your wording, I knew what you meant. But as written it implied no answers to ANY email, not just commercial solicitations.

Sorry, didn't catch the joke. How unusual for me

I think these damned phishing expeditions are getting on my nerves. I've even been thinking of going back to paper and pen and throwing the computer into the recycling bin, where of course they are not accepted, so I guess I'm stuck with the mess.

With each phishing email I gain more cynicism about the state of humanity, and believe me, there isn't much cynicism left for me to gain!!!

I got one of these, but my SPAM filter grabbed it and sent it packing....

Interesting Google hit -- a Japanese site that lists the email, apparently as an ad. Go to Google

http://www.google.com/

, and search on the following:

"Welcome! We are so happy you joined Wine Lovers."

If you search only on

"Welcome! We are so happy you joined"

you can find other members of this spammish outfit:

Internet Dating
Wine Lovers
Ringtone Heaven
Fun World
Web Connects
Pet World
Net Gambler


Clearly NOT a Wine Lovers Page sending.

Regards, Bob