Here's an exchange that I had in the office here on Tuesday. Technically speaking, it's real. But it's not new. We all already know how to treat links in email messages, right? M'kay. Good.
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T:
It is true that this kind of cover for bad behavior exists. It’s not particularly new. The whole idea of “Here’s an interesting piece of email, oh, and by the way, click this link.” is one you’ve seen a hundred times. Like the bank phishing scams and countless others, the way to handle this is to
either ignore it altogether (but you won’t get that real card from your real friend)
or, as the paragraph below from Snopes.com suggests,
go straight to the source.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Snopes.com
Since many of these malicious messages imitate notifications from legitimate ecard
sites, recipients should get into the habit of never clicking on links contained
within ecard notification emails. Instead, go directly to the web site of the
card company, find the card pickup page within that site, and enter the ID code
included in the email. (If the message was a fake, the worst that will happen is
that you won't get a card.)
|
Bottom line, a threat exists. There is actually a malware attack called “Postcard”. But all the same common sense rules apply, and I don’t have any reason (yet) to think we’re in for a terrible attack.
Yours,
BigV
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From: T
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:14 AM
To: BigV
Subject: FW: [BULK] (no subject)
Importance: Low
V, I don’t know if this is valid or not, do you?
T
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: C
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:12 AM
To: T
Subject: FW: [BULK] (no subject)
Importance: Low
Just in case ~
PLEASE FORWARD!!!!
Hi All,
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked snopes.com , and it is for real!!
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp
Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'Invitation' OR ONE CALLED 'POSTCARD,'
regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens an Olympic Torch OR A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone
who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list.
This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.
If you receive a mail called 'Invitation' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it. Shut down your computer immediately.
This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for
this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, whe re the vital information is kept.
COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US.