Email hijack!

[dothawkes31]

Hi, I had an email just now supposedly from someone who uses AB and Facebook and they are in my hotmail contacts, the email address is correct but it says it is sent to someone else not me, and the content of the email is an advert for watches, I've emailed my real contact and let her know it's happened. I know this has happened once before when an email came supposedly from Whiffey but it was an advert for some online business and when I rang him he was able to alter the security settings on his system or something. Does anyone know how these email addys get hijacked and how these perpetraters get to do this? Also, how can it be avoided please?

cheers

Dotty

[squarebear]

Some people stupidly fill in these phishing emails and websites with genuine addresses. Someone on your contacts will have done the same.

[squarebear]

If not that, also bear in mind that anyone can make an email appear as thought it was sent from anyone else.

[Davethedog]

General what happens is a virus called a Trojan horse infects a PC they take a persons address book and then spam the entire list.

Good virus software and regular scans should make sure it doesn't happen to you.

[dothawkes31]

So i have opened the email cos 1) i didn't notice it was sent to someone else in the To: bit, and 2) it obviously seemed it was from someone i know well. So bearing in mind that i have opened it, does this mean this trojan could now be in my address book?

[ladybird49]

( Red face here ) ive run a check and ive no viruses , it must of been sent to me then its spammed my list of contacts , i didnt open it as my son had recieved it and warned me not to open it , so sorry to anyone whos on my list whos recieved it xxx

[Davethedog]

It doesn't always infect sometimes the virus is cought by your software but if so it should be logged somewhere.

Always check for updates to your virus/scanning/firewall software not all companies send it automaticaly.

[ladybird49]

Ive E mailed the Technical dept and asked them to make it a sticky : /

[dothawkes31]

lol ladybird, no need for the red face!!! It's noones fault and the eejits who think it's clever to do this will just do it no matter what the consequences, I don't understand why adverts for watches warrant such underhand tactics though! it seems a ridiculous amount o bother to go to to sell afew watches unless there is an ulterior motive that escapes me!!!

[squarebear]

It's just spam. Just delete it.

We send emails to people looking as though they are from the Queen here at work to show how easy it can be done.

[ChuckFickens]

There is no definitive answer for this without knowing what ladybird uses for email.

if it's a online service, such as hotmail then the account password has been got in some way by a spammer, either by simply trying 10,000's until they get the right one, or by the details being entered on one of those sites that claims to tell you who has you blocked on hotmail (or similar) such as this fake one (cheers squarebear ;)) http://www.square-bear.co.uk/mitsuku/msn.htm

If it's a offline mail client on the local computer (such as outlook) then the computer has been infected by spyware, it's worth noting that spyware is different to a virus and not all anti-virus software will detect/prevent spyware (and some that say they so are not very good at tit)

If it's the former, simply change your account password, if it's the latter download and run a full scan with antimalwarebytes

http://download.cnet....-8022_4-10804572.html

[DrFilth]

chuck is this any good

http://www.iamatechie...-address-to-spammers/

[ChuckFickens]

Can't really see any point to it TBH DrF

It's a bit late to find out who sold your address after they have done it, and also, as the comments say, a lot of websites won't accept a + in the email.

Much better to create a disposable address for signing up to websites and then when the spam gets too much on that address just dump it and create another new one.

[dothawkes31]

cheers Chuck, I've downloaded that malware thing and run it, there was nothing found. My windows firewall is of though and nothing i do seems to get it to turn on so i;ve tried asking for support from wondows but not had a reply, why does it go through the process of turning it on but then say it can't?

[ChuckFickens]

it's not you that needs to run it dot (though it's not a bad idea to run it every month or so just as a preventive measure) it's ladybird that needs to run the scan as it was her computer that sent out the emails to her address book

If you have another firewall installed that will stop the windows firewall from turning on, some antivirus products include a firewall.

[Dris]

Same has happened to me in the space of a month Dot.

Someone has hijacked my EMail addy and emails are sent out to all my contacts -inforunately its my sensible one so its gone to my lawyer in Spain my mum etc and its for Viagra -bleeding annoying !

[dothawkes31]

drat, I;ve changed my password to my hotmail account cos of this and i made it so complicated i can't remember it but when i was doing it i didnlt write it down cos it sounded so easy!!! I;ll just have to keep thinking, i;ve locked the flippin account trying the different conotations grrrrr plus i can;t remeber the answer to the secret question lol