Number 1
McDonald's and Other Familiar Brands Used for Viruses
Fake McDonald's, Coke, and Hallmark Coupons
Trusted brands are usually just that -- to be trusted -- but right now there's a particularly sneaky set of e-mails going around purporting to be from McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Hallmark. As you can see in the above picture of the McDonald's e-mail, these fake promo messages claim to offer coupons for discounts that actually turn out to be links that download a malicious virus that'll snag all your personal information (like banking information, passwords). According to CNET, similar e-mails are appear to come from Coca-Cola and Hallmark as well -- the latter even including a goofy-looking holiday card! So, watch out for these e-mails, but also make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
Number 2
Cheaper Gas
Once again, scammers are going for what's in the news and people's innate desire to save some bucks by highlighting gas prices in spam e-mails. Either they're offering gas cards with locked-in rates or they're hawking gizmos that increase your mileage. Just don't believe it, ok? Especially since now that gas prices are low again, you won't really need these huckster discounts.
Number 3
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.
Number 4
CNN and MSNBC Alerts
Rather than stick with sensational headlines, swindlers are now manufacturing fake custom alerts from CNN and MSNBC that looks pretty legit at first glance. The subject line, as you can see from the screenshot above, says "CNN Alerts: My Custom Alert." If you click on "Full story," you'll be taken to a video player that tells you to download Adobe Flash, but instead turns out to be malware. The easiest solution is to delete it without opening it, but MXLab's Web site has more information on dealing with this nasty bit of e-mail.
Number 5
The Hitman
We told you about the Hitman scheme a while back, but unfortunately, this old con is still going on, only with slight differences. The FBI sent out another warning a month ago, saying that now recipients are being threatened with kidnapping (instead of just killing), and that the new e-mails contain more personal information that fools some people into thinking it's a valid threat. The best solution to this e-mail? Just ignore it, but the FBI also encourages people to report any threatening messages they receive, which you can do via the FBI's Internet Crime Center.
Number 6
Hurricane Charities
Sadly, disasters encourage scammers to prey on the charitable. Naturally, recent hurricanes Ike and Gustav spawned dozens of fake e-mails designed to rip you off. Pretty much every standard scheme has been repurposed for these storms, so check out the list of variations here.
Number 7
Nigerian Scam, Take 2
Just like an extra lame sequel, another Nigerian scam is making the rounds, only this time it's using the first wave of 419 crimes to lure victims. This time, a Nigerian attorney claims to have large settlements for people defrauded by scammers, accessible once people send in $675 and some personal information. Surprise – it's fake.
Number 8
irline Tickets
If you're not flying anywhere, be on the lookout for any ticket messages from airlines, including major ones like JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, and US Airways. E-mails are going out saying that your credit card has been used to purchase a ticket contained in an attached Zip file. If you open it the file, it downloads malware that can be used to steal your personal information. Should you receive an e-mail like this, delete it immediately and contact authorities if you receive it or have already opened it.
Number 9
Search Engine Optimization Offers
Whether it's business or personal, having your own Web site puts you at risk from scammers. Currently, companies offering better search results for your site are offering their services for a fee, although there's no real company. Like any unsolicited e-mails, don't respond to them without looking into the business first and don't give away anything personal before you find out if it's legit. In this case, the lack of company information and bizarre e-mail addresses are the most telling signs that it's phony.
Number 10
Holiday E-mails
Major holidays means it's time to be wary of any greeting cards from unknown senders. Many of these e-mails provide a link to see a message or download some sort of file, but really all you're doing is downloading the Storm Worm. We warned you about it last year at Valentine's Day, and be sure to keep a lookout for the creepy above-pictured skeleton e-card with Halloween right around the corner.
Number 11
Time Warner Cable Threat
If you're a customer of Time Warner (which is the parent company of AOL and Switched.com), outages might not be your only problem. Clients in San Antonio, Texas, all of whom used the Road Runner Internet service, recently received e-mails sent with the company's name and logo asking them to provide account information or they would lose service. Time Warner says that people receiving these messages should delete them and contact the company.
Number 12
Wall Street Woes
While there haven't been any confirmed cases yet, the creators of CertifiedMail issued a warning that spammers will most likely try to use the current economic crisis for phishing (a.k.a., online scamming) purposes. Just as with the hurricanes, the security experts at CertifiedMail believe criminals will capitalize on fear and the high profile nature of the story, so be warned.
Number 13
Obama Sex Scandal
Yes, fake news is all the rage for scammers and they've taken to politics for their latest sensational stories. In one of the more recent versions of the threat, an e-mail purports to have a video of Barack Obama having sex with a Ukrainian woman. Of course, you click on the video and it's malware. As we've said before, please stick to legitimate news sites.
Number 14
Dangerous E-Mails You Should Delete Immediately 16
Would You Fall for This?
We think this one's so obvious that we saved it for last. After all, who in their right mind would actually enter their credit card number into an e-mail asking if their credit card number has been stolen? It's such a transparent scam that it made it onto failblog.org, a site that catalogs these sorts of numskulleries. [Related Link: How to Avoid ID Theft]
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