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New Phishing Scam Targets Amazon Customers
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Amazon.com is best known as an online reseller, starting with
books, CDs, and DVDs, but its customers are also a popular
target of phishing scammers.

Recently, a colleague received what appeared to be a brand new
Amazon phishing email. After contacting the company, he was
told that the suspicious email was indeed a fake.

The email opens by informing recipients that they've supplied
an "invalid credit card address" for a purchase, so their
credit card issuer has "refuzed" to pay.

After the scammer provides a phony website link -- which
reads, "Click here to verify your information" -- the message
continues:

--- Begin Amazon Phishing Email ---

"If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice
but to temporarily suspend your account.

Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect
your account.

Account flagged:
You have used an invalid address for your credit card!
Billing Address Placed:
[Name and address deleted]
United States

Billing Address Refuzed by your Bank:
[Name and address deleted]
United States

NEED TO RESOLVE?
Yes, because your account will be canceled. Verify your
information placed to your amazon.com account."

--- End Amazon Phishing Email ---

Apparently, the scammer hopes recipients who have recently
made Amazon purchases will think their orders have been
confused with that of the fictitious person above -- and that
they'll also ignore the fact that "refused" has been
misspelled (twice) as "refuzed."

In addition, victims are asked to believe that Amazon will
take the drastic step of suspending their accounts if they
don't verify their credit card information soon.

Amazon phishing emails have been around for some time, but the
new email resembles one that began reaching in-boxes a couple
of months ago. The earlier scam also informed recipients that
their orders had been denied, but it didn't offer a specific
reason and didn't threaten to cancel the account.

If you receive a suspicious email -- from Amazon or another
(usually) trustworthy source -- you could do what our
colleague did. Although he HAD recently purchased Amazon
products, he contacted the company by phone to verify whether
the email was genuine.

We recommend, however, that you simply visit Amazon's phishing
page instead.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...odeId=15835501

On this web page, you can learn more about phishing and spoof
emails targeting Amazon buyers, and report any suspicious
emails you've received. From there, you can also track your
recent orders.

Don't forget that you should NEVER click on the link in any
email that throws up "red flags." Instead, contact the actual
company directly -- by phone or by typing in its web address
manually into your browser.

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Another Phishing Scam Targets AOL Users
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Along with Amazon, PayPal and eBay, AOL users are a favorite
"prey" for phishing scammers. Here's a fairly new phishing
email sent to us by a reader.

--- Begin AOL Phishing Email ---

"Subject: Your AOL access will be blocked. Please resubmit
your information!

Dear AOL Member,

This confirms that your AOL payment method has been updated to
reflect the new information you provided. You can make payment
method changes at [Scam Link] throughout your monthly billing
cycle if you decide that a different payment method would
better suit your needs. Please note however, that the billing
method on record at 10:00 AM EST on your billing cycle date
will be the one used to process your account charges.

You can access America Online's secure, self-service Billing
Center by going to [Scam Link]. Here you can review and
modify your AOL account information online, anytime.

Please Remember: If your account information is not updated
within 48 hours then your ability to use your AOL account will
become restricted!

Sincerely," [etc.]

--- End AOL Phishing Email ---

This phishing expedition is more subtle -- and contains better
grammar and spelling -- than the scam in our first Snippet,
but there's one "tip off" that this email is a fake. AOL does
NOT send threatening emails urging immediate action.

The company also doesn't ask for password, billing information
or other personal information in emails or instant messages.
If billing or other information needs to be updated, the
company uses distinctive-looking "Official AOL Mail."

You can find out how to spot the difference between Official
AOL Mail and phishing emails here.

http://daol.aol.com/articles/scams/billscam

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A Different Twist on Overpayment Scams
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Thanks to another reader, we recently were reminded of a new
twist on the overpayment scam that we've only mentioned in
passing -- and this twist is growing fast so we decided to
write a Snippet about it today.

As one of our Top 10 Internet scams (ranking #6 this year), the
overpayment scam commonly involves the SALE of vehicles.

The "buyer" sends you a check or money order for MORE than the
price of the item, but soon "realizes" the mistake, and asks
for a refund of the overpayment. Once you send the refund,
however, you discover that the buyer's check has bounced.

In this different version, the item involved is a rental
property.

An individual (or group of people) responds to a listing for
an apartment or a vacation home, and forwards a certified
check or money order for the entire amount you requested --
often including a security deposit.

Then, at some point, the "renter" backs out of the deal, but
immediately volunteers to let you keep the security deposit --
or another seemingly "fair" amount.

(In older versions of this scam, they sent you a check for
more than the amount requested and asked you to send back the
difference.)

>From there, the scheme plays out as it always does. The
victim issues a real check -- or even a wire transfer --
before learning that the scammer's check has bounced.

Of course, there is a VERY simple way to avoid being scammed.
Do not accept checks for more than the amount and do not send
refunds.

If you truly need to send a refund, call your bank to find out
how long it could take to have the amount charged back if the
check is fraudulent. You might even try to get this in
writing from your bank. Insist on waiting until the buyer's
or renter's check has truly cleared before issuing a refund.

In fact, you may want to make it clear in your listing what
your refund policy is. Stress that under no circumstances
will you refund checks or money orders until they have truly
cleared your bank.

This is important because it can take weeks to find out that
the buyer's check is, in fact, bogus.

Finally, be very careful about depositing checks into your
account from people you don't know, especially international
checks. Banks often charge $25 or more in fees for bounced
checks.

You can find more on overpayment scams here.

http://www.scambusters.org/overpayment.html

That's a wrap for this issue. Wishing you a great week!