Getting Fed Up With Tax Refund Spam
For the last few days, I had several of that old chestnut the Tax Refund Alert spam message.
Obviously, it must work with idiots out there as why do they persist, but now it is just boring.
It’s a pity, there isn’t a simple way to get back at idiots like this.
For those who phone me trying to scam me, I usually say can you phone me on my alternative number and give them a suitable alternative, like the Fraud Reporting Office of the Metropolitan Police. They never phone back!
A Clever Phishing E-Mail Supposedly From O2
I just received an e-mail supposedly from O2 asking me to change my user name. This is the body.
Hello ,
We recently asked you to change your O2 Username.
To change the username to email please click on this link below to confirm this email and finish changing your username.
To keep your details safe, this link will only work for 48 hours from the time it was sent, so please click it now.
Sorry, but we can’t write back to you from this address, so please don’t reply to it. If you need further assistance, please contact Customer Services.
I am a customer of O2, but I never access them on-line, so I was a bit puzzled to start with. I then noticed it came to an old e-mail address, I only used for support on a company I owned. I then checked the headers and found that the e-mail came from Turkey.
It didn’t fool me, but it does show that phishing e-mails are getting more credible.
Getting A Good E-Mail Address
If your name is rather a common one, with a surname like Smith or Jones say and a first name of perhaps James or Susan, you will have difficulty getting a good e-mail address.
My name is not unusual, but by putting the last three characters of my post code after my name, I was able to get a Gmail address without trouble.
As the Post code of 10, Downing Street ends in 2AA, I suspect DavidCameron2AA would be available to the Prime Minister, who is probably not the only David Cameron in the world.
Pointless Spam
I just had a spam e-mail with the title – Never Pay For Auto Repair
I’m very tempted to reply to say that I don’t pay already, as I don’t have a car.
Perhaps the Funniest Address On A Spam E-Mail
I just had to laugh, when I saw this address on a typical lottery scam e-mail.
From The E-mail Lottery Winner Office Address: 23-31 Huddersfield Row, West Yorkshire United Arab Emirate HD2 5TXR
Tel: +971527819868
Contact Agent: Mr. Frank Anderson
Obviously, West Yorkshire is not in the United Arab Emirate or the United Arab Emirates even.
But the phone code, 971, is in the UAE.
The address and post code obviously aren’t valid.
I’ve checked the headers of the e-mail and it might have come from the UAE.
It did create an early morning titter, though!
Do I Need A Smart Phone?
I’ve recently bought a Samsung Tab 2 7. This is the seven inch screen or the small one.
I can keep it in my pocket and use it to send e-mails and surf the Internet. I checked my Zopa and bank details on Saturday and even entered a small post to this blog.
I’ve only a wi-fi version, which proved excellent on the train on Saturday. But then we are seeing more and more free wi-fi hotspots in pubs and cafes everywhere.
So quite frankly, I’ll stick to my Nokia 6310i for phone calls and text messages.
Who needs a smart phone?
Why Has Google News Got Worse?
When I want details on something, say like Dalston Junction station, I will use Google to search for it. Then for any news, there used to be a simple button, which repeated the search on just the news.
That seems to have disappeared and now in most cases I have to open up Google News and start the search again. I supose, it’s an improvement setup by some idiot just out of nappies.
I also find that it always wants me to sign in to my GMail account to store my alerts there. But I prefer them on my standard e-mail, which has nothing to do with GMail.
I suppose they are annoying me, so I use my GMail account, which can then be processed to send me all sorts of spam for products I don’t want.
As they don’t pay enough tax in the UK, I think I might look for another search engine, that does pay the proper rate.
The Dyslexic Spammer
I’ve just had two copies of this simple spam message.
Do you need a laon
As it was headed Dear Sir/Madam and both copies were sent to the same male e-mail address, he or she is pretty stupid as well.
Ministry Of Justice Deals It Out to Claims Firms.
This article on the BBC web site, says that the Ministry of Justice has shut down 209 rogue claims firms in the last six months.
This is good news. But I wonder how many people have been involved in more than one firm.
I also would love to see a database published of all those involved. It would be an interesting analysis.
They Don’t Even Stop On Christmas Day
I’ve just had one of those silly job offer messages from a Chinese company called BMT Chemicals.
Our company BMTChemicals CC requires international payment receiving agents. If you are interested in this position please write back with your Full name, Address and Phone number for more information.
I can only guess what will happen if I replied. It certainly wouldn’t be beneficial to me.
The Anonymous Widower 