Hello everyone,
Over the past two days, I kept receiven "returned mail" in my Yahoo! inbox, as if some servers in Russia (!) were rejecting messages sent from my account.
Needless to say it, I have no idea what those messages were.
Today I found a most bizarre e-mail message in my Bulk folder (proof that the filters work). Here it is:
"Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 03:31:02 +0000
From: "Update" <update@yahoo-wallet.com> | This is not spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Important Information Regarding Your Account
To: "name removed" <name removed@yahoo.com>
Dear Yahoo! User,
We encountered a billing error when attempting to renew your Yahoo! service. This type of error usually indicates that either the credit card you have on file has expired or that the billing address we have is not current.
This is your final notice. Please take a moment to update your credit card information by clicking here and submitting your information.
Please note that we will attempt to renew your service five days from today. If we are still unable to charge your credit card at that time, your service will be terminated.
Sincerely,
Yahoo! Billing Department"
There was a hyperlink in the message, which led to a website: http://yahoo-wallet.com. On that page you're supposed to input your name and credit card info, as well as address and so on.
I contacted Yahoo! Customer Service, and they said it's a scam, and that I should disregard the message, and Yahoo! will have to do something about that site (i.e. having it shut down) I also told them they should put a big announcement on the main Yahoo! page to warn people about this scam.
A quick search on whois.com revealed the following information:
yahoo-wallet.com
Registrant:
Dank, Richard (GZYBRRKIQD)
65 Chenango dr
Jericho, NY 11753
US
Domain Name: YAHOO-WALLET.COM
Administrative Contact:
Dank, Richard (35430048P) dirk0p@gmx.net
65 Chenango dr
Jericho, NY 11753
US
5164596167
Technical Contact:
Network Solutions, Inc. (HOST-ORG) customerservice@networksolutions.com
21355 Ridgetop Circle
Dulles, VA 20166
US
1-888-642-9675 fax: 571-434-4620
Record expires on 14-Jun-2004.
Record created on 14-Jun-2003.
Database last updated on 29-Sep-2003 16:30:06 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.ANONYMOUS.LI
NS2.ANONYMOUS.LI
OK, so that's all I can do. Can someone here with more knowledge and resources folow this lead and/or forward information to proper authorities? I can't do it, since I'm in Canada...
Meanwhile, if you find that message in your inbox, don't even bother reading it. Regular AT members, I'm sure, are smart enough to avoid this scam, but please let your less knowledgeable family members know about it!
This may seem an easy one to spot, but if you or someone else happen to have a paid Yahoo! account (the kind that offers more space on their servers) it could appear genuine enough to warrant a mistake in actually following the instructions...
Over the past two days, I kept receiven "returned mail" in my Yahoo! inbox, as if some servers in Russia (!) were rejecting messages sent from my account.
Needless to say it, I have no idea what those messages were.
Today I found a most bizarre e-mail message in my Bulk folder (proof that the filters work). Here it is:
"Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 03:31:02 +0000
From: "Update" <update@yahoo-wallet.com> | This is not spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: Important Information Regarding Your Account
To: "name removed" <name removed@yahoo.com>
Dear Yahoo! User,
We encountered a billing error when attempting to renew your Yahoo! service. This type of error usually indicates that either the credit card you have on file has expired or that the billing address we have is not current.
This is your final notice. Please take a moment to update your credit card information by clicking here and submitting your information.
Please note that we will attempt to renew your service five days from today. If we are still unable to charge your credit card at that time, your service will be terminated.
Sincerely,
Yahoo! Billing Department"
There was a hyperlink in the message, which led to a website: http://yahoo-wallet.com. On that page you're supposed to input your name and credit card info, as well as address and so on.
I contacted Yahoo! Customer Service, and they said it's a scam, and that I should disregard the message, and Yahoo! will have to do something about that site (i.e. having it shut down) I also told them they should put a big announcement on the main Yahoo! page to warn people about this scam.
A quick search on whois.com revealed the following information:
yahoo-wallet.com
Registrant:
Dank, Richard (GZYBRRKIQD)
65 Chenango dr
Jericho, NY 11753
US
Domain Name: YAHOO-WALLET.COM
Administrative Contact:
Dank, Richard (35430048P) dirk0p@gmx.net
65 Chenango dr
Jericho, NY 11753
US
5164596167
Technical Contact:
Network Solutions, Inc. (HOST-ORG) customerservice@networksolutions.com
21355 Ridgetop Circle
Dulles, VA 20166
US
1-888-642-9675 fax: 571-434-4620
Record expires on 14-Jun-2004.
Record created on 14-Jun-2003.
Database last updated on 29-Sep-2003 16:30:06 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.ANONYMOUS.LI
NS2.ANONYMOUS.LI
OK, so that's all I can do. Can someone here with more knowledge and resources folow this lead and/or forward information to proper authorities? I can't do it, since I'm in Canada...
Meanwhile, if you find that message in your inbox, don't even bother reading it. Regular AT members, I'm sure, are smart enough to avoid this scam, but please let your less knowledgeable family members know about it!
This may seem an easy one to spot, but if you or someone else happen to have a paid Yahoo! account (the kind that offers more space on their servers) it could appear genuine enough to warrant a mistake in actually following the instructions...