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Below is an example of a fraudulent email whose goal it was to obtain the Bank of Japan (Black) credit card number of your Mr. Wonderful. At a glance, the communication appeared completely legitimate. What tipped the incredible astute and intuitive Mr. Wonderful off? Since I've scheduled my Earthlink charges (after my AAA discount) to be deducted automatically on the last day of the month, it was odd to see this email in my Eudora inbox on October 27th. Also, the paragraph claiming that a "third party" had attempted to change my password didn't ring true. Another tip-off was when I held my mouse pointer over the link shown as www.earthlink.net/verify.asp it displayed "http://www.earthlink.net@211.230.148.73/ea/" in my Windows 95 toolbar. Being incredibly astute, your Mr.Wonderful immediately realized that the suffix of 211.230.148.73/ea/ was actually a URL (web site) that may or may not be at Earthlink. I reasoned that if it was an address at Earthlink, why did it not display "earthlink.net?" Next, using the internet, I accessed my account at Earthlink, where I discovered nothing amiss. Finally, using one of the prominently displayed 1-800 Earthlink contact phone numbers, I pulled my telephone out of storage, unwrapped it, cleaned off the cosmolene and phoned them. As soon as the C.S.R. heard me say "John Williams" she informed me that the email was a fraud.
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 01:58:53 +0000
From: John Williams <john.williams@earthlink.net>
Subject: Account Processing error
To: Mark Wonderful <mrwonderful@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: User <user@some.com>
Sender: John Williams <john.williams@earthlink.net>
Dear Customer,
A processing error has occurred with your EarthLink account. This could be caused by a number of reasons as follows:
1. Your credit card failed authorization due to the reason that it has expired or has been found in EarthLink database under a different account ID. In order to remedy the problem we suggest that you provide another credit card that can be billed for EarthLink services. In order to ensure that your EarthLink account remains active, it is advisable that you supply a credit card that has not been used to pay for EarthLink services within the past 30 days.
2. Your EarthLink account has been accessed by a third party that requested a password change, causing EarthLink staff to issue you a different password. It is now required that you fill out and submit again all necessary account information in order to verify that your account has not been further compromised.
3. An e-mail was sent to you with a request for information on your EarthLink account details. If you have received such a message, please disregard it as it may be a third party attempt to gain access to your EarthLink account. After your new account information has been processed you will be redirected back to www.earthlink.net. Please verify all details prior to submitting.
This issue must be solved within 24 hours of receiving this email or your account may be suspended and/or terminated and a reactivation fee of $24.95 will be applied if you choose to continue your EarthLink Experience. This fee cannot be waived once the account has been deactivated. For fastest processing, follow the secure link to verify your information. When you open the verification page, EarthLink establishes a secure connection with your Web browser using SSL. During this secure session, communication between your computer and EarthLink is encrypted, or scrambled, using the most advanced methods commercially available. Please visit www.earthlink.net/verify.asp or click the link below to verify your personal & billing information.
Update billing information
Thank you in advance for your co-operation.
John Williams
Earthlink Inc. Billing Department
© 2003 Earthlink Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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