Spammers, phishers and other miscreants are increasingly inventive. A couple days ago, one of my relatives forwarded to me an e-mail warning me of a virus threat. In this case, the threat is bogus and the warning itself is the scam, although I don't know what purpose it serves. Maybe it's the modern-day equivalent of calling the corner store and asking if they have Sir Walter Raleigh in a can.
Today I got what looks like a PayPal receipt for the purchase of a cellphone for $474.99. There was a helpful link I could click if I wanted to dispute the amount. If I were to click on the link, it would squirt my PayPal log-in information to the scammers.
I get dozens of these a year, although this was the slickest so far. My e-mail program, Thunderbird, flagged it as a possible scam, but even without the warning I wouldn't have been taken in because we all know never to click on the links in a commercial e-mail or one from an unknown sender, don't we?
If you have any doubts, Google some of the unique phrases in the e-mail. The purported vendor on this one was LWPELECTRONICS. The phone was being sent to Bill Chang, 202 N Magnolia Dr., Saco ME. Google that address and you get 961 hits, nearly all of them warnings about the scam. Now, with this, make that 962 hits.