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The 12 Most Dangerous E-mails

by Dan Reilly on September 24, 2008 at 05:55 AM

F.B.I. Vs. Facebook

Yes, there are more important matters to worry about than Facebook's recent redesign -- namely, an e-mail with a message that says "F.B.I. vs. Facebook," which includes the above picture and has a link to download the Storm Worm botnet, that nasty piece of malware that connects infected computers and uses them for identity theft and spam. Make sure not to open any e-mail with this subject and make sure to delete it immediately. If you do accidentally open this e-mail, don't click on any links within it and delete it immediately. Lastly, before you open another e-mail, make sure you have some sort of anti-virus software installed.

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Comments

William PickettSep 24th 2008 8:35AM

Neutral

I'll send you one where they send you and e-mail from the FBI, with photos, encouraging you to do business with specific people in Nigeria and west Africa.

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YveleeSep 24th 2008 10:53AM

Neutral

Never respond to an e-mail from nor do business with any foreign nation or individual via the internet unless the individual and/or company and ALL contact information can be verified. Non U.S. individuals realize that they cannot be prosecuted for internet crimes against willing American citizens. Also, no one is willing to travel to another country in order to prosecute an individual or a company that doesn't exist. These people are counting on our unwillingness to pursue these scams.

I once received an e-mail from Reunion.com, a reputable online company, stating that someone who went to college with me had sent me an e-mail. I did not recognize this person's name but I had attended several colleges in the past. This person also knew my changed first name and my married last name ( I legally changed my first name in January of 2007). He asked me in his e-mail if I was interested in making extra income as a sales mediator. He then provided a website for me to visit if I was interested (I now realize that this tactic is known as a phishing scam). Once I visited the site, I noticed that the company listed was in Moscow, Russia. I discovered later that this company did not exist. It was a scam. The company, called GST (Global Supplies Trader), sold heavy equipment to unsuspecting customers on E-bay. The customers would then wire thousands of dollars into the American mediators' bank accounts. The mediators would then Western Union or send a Money Gram to Russia and retain 10% as a commission. The only problem was that the customers never received the merchandise. Now the Americans are liable for thousands of dollars that are now safely in Russia. Who is more stupid, the e-bay customers who wire thousands of dollars into a stranger's bank account BEFORE receiving the merchandise or the mediator who sends thousands of someone else's dollars to a company in a foreign country without verifying the validity of the company?

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JCMessmerSep 26th 2008 12:35PM

Neutral

I have recieved emails of the same sort time and again, except usually mine are from someone personal, who wants to immigrate to the US but needs inside assistance, normally i tell them i am not interested and if they contact me again, then i will report them to the police and the FBI will be awaiting their arrival if they ever come here.

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