Adobe Software Upgrade Scam
I have had several of these e-mails, mostly to e-mail addresses that are only used to register domain names for clients.
ADOBE PDF READER SOFTWARE UPGRADE NOTIFICATION
This is to remind that a new version of Adobe Acrobat Reader with enhanced features for viewing, creating, editing, printing and internet-sharing PDF documents has been released.
To upgrade your application:
+ Go to [link removed]
+ Get your options, download and upgrade.Thanks and best regards,
John WilliamAdobe Acrobat Reader Support
Copy rights Adobe 2010 © All rights reserved
1022 Marrinbird Rd | Merryton | CA | 91523 | USA
Unless Adobe tell me that it is genuine in a secure and verifiable manner, I’ll assume it’s a scam or some form of trojan or virus delivery.
I did find this note in an Adobe forum, confirming my suspicions.
I also found this in the registration details for the domain.
Domain name: ADOBE-ACROBAT-SOFTWARE.COM
Name Server: ns3.nic.ru
Name Server: ns4.nic.ru
Name Server: ns8.nic.ru
Creation Date: 2010.10.16
Expiration Date: 2011.10.16Status: DELEGATED
Registrant ID: ZA5XXWT-RU
Registrant Name: John Terry
Registrant Organization: John Terry
Registrant Street1: 1729 Park Way
Registrant City: London
Registrant Postal Code: H38LA92
Registrant Country: GB
So it’s some form of Russian scam? Certainly, the UK address is not genuine and John Terry is just an infamous footballer, who most people have heard of the name.
The Vaguaries of Internet Shopping
I do a lot of Internet shopping, but today I’ve given up. I need to buy some pH Test strips, because I’d like to test the pH of my mouth. Two web sites wanted all my details in a profile, before they checked me out. There was also no box to check to stop spam. Compare this yesterday, when I bought the book, all the Public Catalogue Foundation wanted was an address, an e-mail address and credit card details. Perhaps this is why I buy my books on Amazon and my clothes at M & S, as they do it without fuss.
Internet shops should be simple and efficient. Many aren’t!
In the end I found what I wanted on valuemed.co.uk.
A Gamble Too Far
Jim Gamble’s resignation from CEOP is probably sad, but according to this report, his resignation is about power and being independent.
We need more protection for the vulnerable in society when they use the Internet, the telephone or even receive mail. Children, are just possibly the most important of several groups, who need protection from all sorts of low life.
When I had the boiler room crooks targeting me, I got no help from the police. On the other hand, I was strong enough to fight them and win, but many other widows and pensioners, would not have the knowledge or the fortitude to fight. But the crooks are still phoning according to my Truecall monitor, so they never give up. And that is why we need more protection!
So perhaps one of the benfits of merging CEOP into a proposed National Crime Agency would be that their systems could be broadened to protect the other vulnerable groups. I suspect that the determination behind the evil people plaguing me, is very little different to those targeting children.
McDonalds Customer Survey
This seemed another bit of pointless spam, but then I didn’t click the link to a web site in Malaysia.
Dear customer,
Please give us only 5 minutes of your valuable time to ask you some questions about our products . Please be aware that we will not ask you about any personal information.In return, we will credit $90.00 to your account – just for your time.
If you want to answer our simply 8 questions , please click the link below :
Thank you for helping us to become better .Sincerely, McDonald’s Survey Department.
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.
I should say though that my ISP marked it as spam and it was to that mythical person, “undisclosed-recipients” I suspect that the link asks for your bank account details, so they can empty it.
Dealing with scams like these, is a bit like getting Health and Safety right. It’s just common sense, stupid!
Thoughts on Ticket Booking Web Sites
I’ve just been booking tickets for my trip north at the weekend. It looks like the itinerary will be :-
Saturday 25th September
Ely (8:58) to Peterborough (9:38)/
Peterborough (9:46) to Doncaster (10:38)
Doncaster (11:07)to Scunthorpe (11:45)
Scunthorpe (17:10) to Doncaster (17:40)
Doncaster (18:34) to Newcastle (20:01) – Ticket pick-up at Doncaster
Newcastle (20:50) to Edinburgh (23:30) – It’s actually a bus!
Monday 27th September
Edinburgh (16:33) to Inverness (20:08) – Meet at Waverley Travel Centre at 16:00
Tuesday 28th September
Inverness (09:00) to Kyle of Lochalsh (11:28) Ticket pick-up at Edinburgh Waverley
Mallaig (16:05) to Fort William (17:07)
Fort William (19:50) to London Euston (07:47) Ticket pick-up at Edinburgh Waverley
I haven’t had too much trouble booking these tickets on-line. But one thing that gets to me is the nit-picking detail on many of these sites.
As an example, they always ask you to tick the Terms and Conditions box. Does anybody not tick this box? It should be up the other way and you should only tick it if you don’t accept them!
ScotRail‘s web site seemed to get you to put in everything twice. But then it’s a long way up to Scotland and the Internet probably forgets what I’ve typed in last time.
I also had the usual nause about registering with ScotRail for the sleeper. Why can’t the same registration apply for all of the TOCs? I use the same details in them all anyway!
My Foxtrot Oscar Signature
I use this e-mail signature to annoy spammers and those that won’t take no for an answer.
I have better things to do with my life, than deal with spam.
If I get another from you, you’ll be reported automatically to the ICO.
To put it politely, Foxtrot Oscar
They generally don’t come back to me! But then threatening someone with the ICO, I like slapping them on the wrist with a very small feather.
Best of Salineville Award
I’ve received this e-mail in the past and can’t quite fathom out, how they screw me for money. But they will somewhere along the line.
Earlier this year, I sent a notification email to you recognizing that Xxxxx Xxxxxx has been selected for the 2010 Best of Salineville Award in the Animal Farms category by the US Commerce Association (USCA).http://salineville.uscommassoc.com/XXX-XXXX-XXX
I’m sure that your selection as a 2010 Award Winner is a reflection of the hard work of not only yourself, but of many people that have supported your business and contributed to the subsequent success of your organization. Congratulations on your selection to such an elite group of small businesses. In recognition of your achievement, a special 2010 Best of Salineville Award has been designed for display at your place of business. You may arrange to have your award sent directly to James Miller by following the simple steps on the 2010 Best of Salineville Award order form. Simply copy and paste this link into your browser to access the order form:
The USCA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.posted on the USCA website. USCA hereby grants Xxxxx Xxxxxx a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, and display this press release in any media formats and through any media channels.
Also, a copy of the press release publicizing the selection of Xxxxx Xxxxxx is
In order to provide you with the best possible service, you have been assigned an award code that can be used on our website for quick access to your award information and press release. If you have any questions or comments, please include this code with your correspondence.
Your Award Code is: XXX-XXXX-XXX
To place your order over the phone – please call us at: 877-312-9340 and select option 1.
If anybody has any idea how these crooks work, please add a comment to this post.
I did reply in my usual Foxtrot Oscar mode!
Sincerely,
A Post From an Anti-Spam List
I belong to an anti-spam list called Spammers Don’t Like Us.
This was posted today.
Several years back, my now ex and I tried SPAM(R) sandwiches for dinner one night. It didn’t agree with me for some reason. Woke up mumbling a whole bunch of stuff about pills, weight loss, credit cards, discounts, coupon codes, marketing opportunities, etc. Then I just spewed vomit everywhere.
My then wife said “Five five what?? Message? What Message?” I said back to her “Honey, I bounced the spam.” The whole thing was very freudian.
Also was my one and only experience as a backscatterer.
As a coeliac, I should ask if Spam is gluten-free.
The CEO’s E-Mail Address
It has been reported that the CEO of Nationwide has been forced to shut his e-mail address, because of protests, that they are charging for overseas cash withdrawals. Apparently, it has now been changed to something like ceo@nationwide.co.uk and you now get through to one of his assistants.
Apparently, there is a web site call ceoemail.com, which gives many of the e-mail addresses or those that run companies and organisations.
So if I was running a large company, how would I organise it?
The e-mail address would be obvious like ceo@megacorp.co.uk and this would then go through a strong spam filter to remove the real rubbish trying to sell me worthless fakes and then pass the rest to my assistant or one of a group of assistants, if the company was large enough or I was getting a lot of e-mail. The assistants would have software, which by just clicking a button would take action on the e-mails. Actions might include.
- Forward to Customer Services or other Departments. These would also go into an e-mail tracking system, so that it can be traced that e-mails have been acted on.
- Put on a block list as it’s abusive. The sender would be told and why!
- Reply with a simple and appropriate e-mail.
- Phone the sender and say something appropriate.
- Send them a nice postcard. I’ve always found that this is a good thing to do, as people won’t throw away a nice picture. But they may pin it to their notice board.
Obviously, you can think of a lot more responses you might use.
The important e-mails would be sent to me for personal action.
Now some companies manage to do this with letters and I can remember receiving a phone call from Sainsbury’s after I’d written in with a complaint to the CEO.
But one thing no company does is to analyse all of the messages and count the occurences of various issues. So to return to the Nationwide example, if the CEO was getting a lot of complaints about withdrawal fees, the CEO would know about it and could take action.
So in fact, if you get the system right, it’s a very powerful way to find out what your customers are thinking about and satisfy their needs!
The Anonymous Widower 