New Internet Scam!

[Bigjohn]

Well, this one is new to me;

On Thursday 17th May 2007 I received an email with my correct email address on top. It appears to originate from a well known electronics company and says that your order has been accepted and that your credit card will be charged for an amount, in my case $865.00AUD.

Now, I know that I had never been to the site they mention nor had I ordered the item they said I had and certainly I had not supplied my CC details to them.

At the bottom of the email is a link with which they claim you can check your order online. DON'T!

I spoke with the consumer affairs people and they said it is a new scam to grab your banking details. I phoned my bank to inform them of the email and they are already aware of it and frooze any internet access to my account immediately.
They also advised me to do a full anti-virus scan of my PC as the said the site would download a virus onto the computor of anyone who receives the email, I would have thought you would need to activate the link first but caution is best.

Full scan later no virus.
Be aware,
John.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have a Visa debit card which is the only card I use on line. This is a dedicated account, with a different credit union (people still use banks, I'm told). Costs me $2 a month for the debit card service, I can use it like a credit card, but if the funds aren't there, bad luck the transaction bounces. I top up this account as I need to when I buy something. I only access my main account via phone.

Mick.

[Char-Gar]

I get several of these and other types of scams a week. Here is my policy.

If it sounds like BS, it is.
I never use a link on an email to check on anything
If I want to check on anything that requires an ID and/or password and it contains any financial information, I go to the site direct from a fresh browser.

[LarryM]

You can also "right click" on a link in an email and pull up the "properties" for the link and see if they match the supposed site. Alot of time you will see a link for a well known outfit but the properties show it to be going somewhere else.