ELM Bulletin - August 31, 2008
Cons and Other Email Hoaxes
We've all seen them, the con, or hoax, email from a relative of the former ruler of an obscure foreign country with promises of untold wealth if only we would give them access to our bank account. Such cons have been around for as long as there have been people to con; the Internet has merely added a new twist to an old game, allowing con artists to target more people than ever before. In this month's ELM Bulletin we tell you how to distinguish a hoax from the truth.
People have been the targets of con artists for as long as man has had a corrupted nature; but with the advent of the Internet as an inexpensive delivery system, con artists have been able to broaden their scope to include anyone with access to the Internet. Cons, or hoaxes, differ from spyware and viruses in that they are not designed to damage a computer, or to steal information from them, but to use the computer as a delivery mechanism. They take advantage of our desire for increased wealth in order to rob us of what we already have.
Some hoaxes exist as practical jokes. These can be entertaining (like the warring that a virus, undiscoverable by any software, wipe out your memory, clean out your bank account and turn your car into a Model T), or ignorant (like those telling us to forward an email to all our friends so a dying child's last wish can be granted).
Some hoaxes will be obvious, while others will seem to have the ring of truth. All-in-all, it can be confusing to know when to be sceptical, when to be afraid and when to laugh. Fortunately, there are websites where such cons and hoaxes are collated and evaluated. Some of these sites are listed below:
Hoax-Slayer (www.hoax-slayer.com)
Snopes (www.snopes.com)
Symantec (www.symantec.com)
Each website lists a description of the identifying features of the hoax (since many go by multiple names) and presents an analysis of whether or not (and how) you ought to be concerned.
The general rule-of-thumb is that if you have an email that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be suspicious and visit one or more of the sites above to confirm whether or not your suspicions are legitimate.
A great number of cons and hoaxes, along with the more dangerous (rather than annoying) types spam, can be virtually eliminated by installing an email security appliance. These appliances can almost completely eliminate illegitimate email (which was 95% of all email for at least one of our clients), allowing legitimate email to be delivered with a high level of accuracy.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Past issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website, feel free to forward them to anyone you wish.
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Peter Rhebergen Telephone |
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