Fake email warnings about a child
predator circulating in Illinois communities
Send a link to a friend
[January 27, 2015]
Fake email warnings about a
child predator being in the neighborhood are the latest methods
scammers are using to steal personal identity information, warns
BBB. These “community safety” alerts are designed to look official.
|
The subject line of a typical scam email states “Alert: A
child-predator just moved into your neighborhood. Alert #123107756”.
The email claims to be a notification that is automatically
generated and is being sent based on the recipient’s computer IP
address as well as zip code. Included in the message is a link to
click that will provide the reader with more information about the
predator.
Clicking on the link takes the user to a series of redirected site.
The first linked site infects the computer. The other successive
link simply distract the user who eventually lands on the website
for a BBB Accredited Business located in Santa Barbara, Calif., that
sells localized reports on sex offenders.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/27/images/ads/current/mks_lda_012015.png)
“This Accredited Business is being used by the ID thieves as a way
to lend credibility to their email and distract from the actual
scam,” says Bonnie Bakin, president and CEO of the Better Business
Bureau serving Central Illinois. “The first click of the scam email
does the damage with malware that will attempt to search for stored
information such as user names, passwords and credit card numbers.”
A general rule of thumb is to never click on links in unsolicited
emails. For more information use the browser to search for the
business.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2010/Jan/07/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Here are tips on how to spot an email scam:
- Check out the “From” field: Scammers can mask email
addresses, making them appear to come from legitimate sources.
Look out for email addresses that don’t match the brand used in
the email message.
- Typos and grammar – Brand logos and email formats can easily
be copied, but bad grammar and poor writing typically indicate
that the message is a scam.
- Check URL’s – Hover over URL’s to determine their real
destination. Usually, the hyperlink text will say one thing and
the link will point somewhere else.
- Personalized emails – Scams often pretend to be
personalized, but they are actually blast emails. If the
receiver never signed up for custom email alerts, the person
should not be receiving them.
[Alyssa Hoerr, Better Business Bureau
Serving Central Illinois]
ABOUT BBB: For 100 years, the
Better Business Bureau has been helping consumers find
businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2012,
consumers turned to BBB more than 100 million times for Business
Reviews on more than 4 million companies and Charity Reports on
11,000 charities, all available for free at www.bbb.org. The
Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization
for 114 local, independent BBB's across the United States and
Canada, as well as home to its national programs on dispute
resolution and industry self-regulation.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/27/images/ads/current/gives_you_more_bch_040314.png) |