Like everyone else I get these PayPal scams with annoying regularity, and I've developed a quick and very efficient technique to help thwart these bastards, which I'd like to share:
1) First, understand how to identify a Paypal scam email. You can do that by visiting here. The most important thing to understand is that you can make a hyperlink say anything you want. It's the underlying URL that's important. In most email clients, if you mouse over the link, you'l get a tooltip that shows you the real link URL. If it is anything else except "https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr/?cmd=_login-run ", then you can BET its a scam.
2) Do a whois lookup on the domain of the target url. This usually only takes a minute. Now you know who the domain is registered to. This is usually, but not always, the perpetrator. In many cases, you can actually get their name, address, and contact email!
3) At this point, what I usually do is trace back to the nameservers or do a Tracert (DOS COMMAND: Tracert www.badguy.com ) to find out where its landing. The last entry in the traceroute list before the actual target IP Is usually the domain of the hosting company.
4) Then, i forward the spam email to abuse@thehostingcompany.com with a note that they are hosting a Paypal scammer and they should fix it. Usually, if they are reputable, they will put the guy out of business within 5 mins. I just did one to somebody from menage-paypal.com that turned out to be hosted in Poland, and I got a thank you reply within minutes.
5) you can of course forward the errant email (preferably with the full email headers) to spoof@paypal.com. However, they are pretty overloaded, so a little vigilante-ism as above can certainly help!
If more people do what I describe above, or similar actions, we can all help to make it very unprofitable for the spammers to even try anymore.
The moral of the story is:
Everything is not always what it seems, so be aware. There really are people out there who will use every trick in the book they can to get at you.
Saturday, 27 August 2005
Paypal scams
Like everyone else I get these PayPal scams with annoying regularity, and I've developed a quick and very efficient technique to help thwart these bastards, which I'd like to share:
1) First, understand how to identify a Paypal scam email. You can do that by visiting here. The most important thing to understand is that you can make a hyperlink say anything you want. It's the underlying URL that's important. In most email clients, if you mouse over the link, you'l get a tooltip that shows you the real link URL. If it is anything else except "https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr/?cmd=_login-run ", then you can BET its a scam.
2) Do a whois lookup on the domain of the target url. This usually only takes a minute. Now you know who the domain is registered to. This is usually, but not always, the perpetrator. In many cases, you can actually get their name, address, and contact email!
3) At this point, what I usually do is trace back to the nameservers or do a Tracert (DOS COMMAND: Tracert www.badguy.com ) to find out where its landing. The last entry in the traceroute list before the actual target IP Is usually the domain of the hosting company.
4) Then, i forward the spam email to abuse@thehostingcompany.com with a note that they are hosting a Paypal scammer and they should fix it. Usually, if they are reputable, they will put the guy out of business within 5 mins. I just did one to somebody from menage-paypal.com that turned out to be hosted in Poland, and I got a thank you reply within minutes.
5) you can of course forward the errant email (preferably with the full email headers) to spoof@paypal.com. However, they are pretty overloaded, so a little vigilante-ism as above can certainly help!
If more people do what I describe above, or similar actions, we can all help to make it very unprofitable for the spammers to even try anymore.
The moral of the story is:
Everything is not always what it seems, so be aware. There really are people out there who will use every trick in the book they can to get at you.
1) First, understand how to identify a Paypal scam email. You can do that by visiting here. The most important thing to understand is that you can make a hyperlink say anything you want. It's the underlying URL that's important. In most email clients, if you mouse over the link, you'l get a tooltip that shows you the real link URL. If it is anything else except "https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr/?cmd=_login-run ", then you can BET its a scam.
2) Do a whois lookup on the domain of the target url. This usually only takes a minute. Now you know who the domain is registered to. This is usually, but not always, the perpetrator. In many cases, you can actually get their name, address, and contact email!
3) At this point, what I usually do is trace back to the nameservers or do a Tracert (DOS COMMAND: Tracert www.badguy.com ) to find out where its landing. The last entry in the traceroute list before the actual target IP Is usually the domain of the hosting company.
4) Then, i forward the spam email to abuse@thehostingcompany.com with a note that they are hosting a Paypal scammer and they should fix it. Usually, if they are reputable, they will put the guy out of business within 5 mins. I just did one to somebody from menage-paypal.com that turned out to be hosted in Poland, and I got a thank you reply within minutes.
5) you can of course forward the errant email (preferably with the full email headers) to spoof@paypal.com. However, they are pretty overloaded, so a little vigilante-ism as above can certainly help!
If more people do what I describe above, or similar actions, we can all help to make it very unprofitable for the spammers to even try anymore.
The moral of the story is:
Everything is not always what it seems, so be aware. There really are people out there who will use every trick in the book they can to get at you.
Tuesday, 9 August 2005
Monday, 8 August 2005
Underwater Motorbike at Shelly Beach
I've heard alot about this but wasn't sure whether to believe it or not; a motorbike dumped quite a way out from the shoreline at Shelly Beach. On saturday the water was crystal clear and after a few attempts i finally spotted it.
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Underwater Motorbike at Shelly Beach
I've heard alot about this but wasn't sure whether to believe it or not; a motorbike dumped quite a way out from the shoreline at Shelly Beach. On saturday the water was crystal clear and after a few attempts i finally spotted it.
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Saturday, 30 July 2005
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Thursday, 28 July 2005
Old Jokes' Home
A man goes to the doctor and says,
"Doctor, I'm having trouble with my hearing".
"What are the symptoms?" asks the doctor.
The man replies, "A yellow TV cartoon family".
Old Jokes' Home
A man goes to the doctor and says,
"Doctor, I'm having trouble with my hearing".
"What are the symptoms?" asks the doctor.
The man replies, "A yellow TV cartoon family".
Wednesday, 27 July 2005
San Andreas Graffiti
Check this Grand Theft Auto graffiti out - just on the wall near our apartment. Well smart.
San Andreas Graffiti
Check this Grand Theft Auto graffiti out - just on the wall near our apartment. Well smart.
Sunday, 24 July 2005
Saturday, 2 July 2005
Tuesday, 28 June 2005
Google Sight Seeing
Google has hugely expanded the areas of the world that it covers with satellite imagery. Egypt, Iraq, mainland Europe and the UK have all now got satellite coverage to a lesser or greater degree. You can now go see sights like Buckingham Palace or the Arc de Triomphe from the comfort of your own swivelchairs. Iraq in particular seems to have a large number of high-zoom areas. I just looked up the Baghdad Parade Grounds where Saddam used to take the salute and other towns like Fallujah are also there.
some other good google map links :
This is so compulsive!
Google Sight Seeing
Google has hugely expanded the areas of the world that it covers with satellite imagery. Egypt, Iraq, mainland Europe and the UK have all now got satellite coverage to a lesser or greater degree. You can now go see sights like Buckingham Palace or the Arc de Triomphe from the comfort of your own swivelchairs. Iraq in particular seems to have a large number of high-zoom areas. I just looked up the Baghdad Parade Grounds where Saddam used to take the salute and other towns like Fallujah are also there.
some other good google map links :
This is so compulsive!
Sunday, 26 June 2005
Summer 2004 reminder
Continuing to try and put some of the many thousands of pics i've accumulated over the last 3 years online, here are some from the last 6 months-
Summer 2004 reminder
Continuing to try and put some of the many thousands of pics i've accumulated over the last 3 years online, here are some from the last 6 months-
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