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Geek Culture / Should I trust this email from "Microsoft"?

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Mr Smith
12
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Joined: 24th May 2012
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Posted: 6th Jun 2012 03:48
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Heres the email...

-- Microsoft Corporation Sweepstakes Promotion,
Customer Service.
Your Winning Batch No: [CENSORED]
Your Winning Reference No: [CENSORED]

OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION.

We are pleased to inform you of the release of the long awaited results of
Sweepstakes promotion organized by Microsoft Corporations, in conjunction with the FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOFTWARE products, (F.P.S.) held this June 2012, in Madrid Spain. Where in your email address emerged as one of the online Winning emails in the 2nd category and therefore attracted a cash award of 350,000.00 euro (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euros Only) and a Toshiba laptop.

To begin your claim, do file for the release of your winning by contacting our Foreign Transfer Manager:
Mr. James Marshall
Tel:0034-603-300-478
Fax:0034-911-820-387
Email:[email protected]

The Microsoft Internet E-mail lottery Awards is sponsored by former
CEO/Chairman, Bill Gates and a consortium of software promotion companies.
The Intel Group, Toshiba, Dell Computers and other International
Companies.
The Microsoft internet E-mail draw is held periodically and is organized
to encourage the use of the Internet and promote computer literacy worldwide.

Congratulations!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Anita Hendrix,
Promotions Manager.
(Group Co-ordinator)


___________________________
It actually came from an Email at microsoft.com ([email protected])

Im confused kind of...

Mr.S is here, he would like to speak to you.
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Nateholio
19
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Joined: 30th Dec 2005
Location: I\'ve Been Everywhere
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 03:51 Edited at: 6th Jun 2012 03:52
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Email addresses can be faked easily. Always contact the company directly when unsure. You can probably send a copy to some MS customer support address to confirm if it's real.

In Development: K96 - Combat Simulation
Keep your Hope and Change, I choose individual Liberty!
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Airslide
20
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Joined: 18th Oct 2004
Location: California
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 03:53
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From the looks of it I would guess no.
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Mr Smith
12
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Joined: 24th May 2012
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Posted: 6th Jun 2012 03:54
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But the thing is, there is nothing attached...

Mr.S is here, he would like to speak to you.
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Nateholio
19
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Joined: 30th Dec 2005
Location: I\'ve Been Everywhere
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 03:54
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"Foreign transfer" is what made me go "Huh?"

http://mosthostserver.com/?p=8725

Google is your friend.

In Development: K96 - Combat Simulation
Keep your Hope and Change, I choose individual Liberty!
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RedneckRambo
18
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Joined: 19th Oct 2006
Location: Worst state in USA... California
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 04:00
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This is fake... A quick google search of the text and loads saying it's fake.

I>Every single one of you

Have a nice day
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Seppuku Arts
Moderator
20
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Joined: 18th Aug 2004
Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 04:42
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This is an example of phishing. Best thing to do is checking the URLs, usually there's a subtle clue. In your email, it's this:

Quote: "Email:[email protected]"


Their email would be @microsoft.com for everything.

If you're ever unsure, you can always contact the company they're claiming to be to check its validity. When I got a phone call from somebody claiming to be my bank to tell me that somebody had tried to commit fraud on my account, I just took down the phone number, popped in the bank (as I had to anyway) and asked if the number was one of theirs and not a fake. They confirmed it. There's all sorts of scams out there, you just gotta be cautious.

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Mr Smith
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Posted: 6th Jun 2012 05:27
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Just contacted microsoft support. They said its fake. Good work guys!

Mr.S is here, he would like to speak to you.
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Nateholio
19
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Joined: 30th Dec 2005
Location: I\'ve Been Everywhere
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 05:28
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Just gotta tell you...Mrs. Smith is hot, especially the way she handles weapons.

In Development: K96 - Combat Simulation
Keep your Hope and Change, I choose individual Liberty!
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Mr Smith
12
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Posted: 6th Jun 2012 07:54
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Dude... Really... Cmon...

Mr.S is here, he would like to speak to you.
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Libervurto
18
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Joined: 30th Jun 2006
Location: On Toast
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 11:50 Edited at: 6th Jun 2012 11:52
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Quote: "Microsoft Corporation Sweepstakes Promotion"

What made you think this could possibly be legitimate? If someone genuinely wants to give you something they wont make it difficult for you to get it.

I have a carrot for you...



Careful now...

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bitJericho
22
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Joined: 9th Oct 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 12:05
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Quote: "What made you think this could possibly be legitimate? If someone genuinely wants to give you something they wont make it difficult for you to get it."


Haven't you ever played minesweeper?

darkBIT TGC Torrent Tracker / File Server - AGK Chat: #agk : irc.devhat.net
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mr Handy
17
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Joined: 7th Sep 2007
Location: out of TGC
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 12:10
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Quote: "Microsoft Corporation Cupcakes Promotion"


«It's the Pony, pony me this, pony me that» — Bronies
«I sell apples and apple accessories» — Applejack
Derpy delivers: watch?v=g4Kgz4Us_RI
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Libervurto
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Location: On Toast
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 15:56 Edited at: 6th Jun 2012 16:00
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Quote: "Microsoft Corporation Cupcakes Promotion"

Oooh where do I sign?

Quote: "Haven't you ever played minesweeper?"

I don't see how that contradicts.
No one has ever beaten minesweeper anyway. You may think you have but minesweeper always wins in the end... always.

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bruce3371
14
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Joined: 4th Aug 2010
Location: Englishland
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 17:59
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Quote: "We are pleased to inform you of the release of the long awaited results of
Sweepstakes promotion organized by Microsoft Corporations, in conjunction with the FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOFTWARE products, (F.P.S.) held this June 2012, in Madrid Spain. Where in your email address emerged as one of the online Winning emails in the 2nd category and therefore attracted a cash award of 350,000.00 euro (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euros Only) and a Toshiba laptop."


Bad grammar, lack of punctuation, both are immediate giveaways that this is a phishing scam. To be honest I'm surprised you even needed to ask.

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Kevin Picone
22
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Joined: 27th Aug 2002
Location: Australia
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 18:27
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well.. if people fall for those Nigerian scam things, then why wouldn't somebody fall for something like this ?


Mobile Platforms Are Coming
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Green Gandalf
VIP Member
20
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Joined: 3rd Jan 2005
Playing: Malevolence:Sword of Ahkranox, Skyrim, Civ6.
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 19:39
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Looks like someone almost did.
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bruce3371
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Location: Englishland
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 19:59
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Thing is, there's really no excuse for falling for things like this, there's plenty of websites warning about stuff like this.

Plus, all that's really needed is a healthy dose of common sense; If it sounds to good to be true, then more often than not, it IS too good to be true!

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Seppuku Arts
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Joined: 18th Aug 2004
Location: Cambridgeshire, England
Posted: 6th Jun 2012 20:25
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If you've not heard of this kind of thing or not encountered it previously, you might not be fully aware. There's always that 'first' encounter and you might not know what to make of it and it's best to ask questions. It's not as if this knowledge is innate. I say, it's good that he asked before doing anything to make sure it was legit, so he obviously has the common sense to know to be cautious about what mail he receives.

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bruce3371
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Posted: 7th Jun 2012 17:40
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I'm just glad the 'first encounter' I had was a really poor attempt! It alerted me to future attempts.

But yes, fair comment, I guess not everyone is so lucky with their first encounter. Some of these scams are more professional looking.

However, my advice to people is still look for grammar and spelling mistakes and, like I said in my previous post, if it sounds too good to be true, it IS too good to be true.

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nonZero
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Joined: 10th Jul 2011
Location: Dark Empire HQ, Otherworld, Silent Hill
Posted: 7th Jun 2012 22:02
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Heya all TGC forum member!! Congratulations, this are the 999,999,999,999 thread. You have all won an iPhone! Please sent me youre banking details to promotions@micro_soft.com


If you've ever watched Incerption (if you haven't then watch it) then you know the only way to tell it's a dream is to try and "remember how you got here". Well it's like that with comps and promos:

If you didn't enter anything, HTF could you have won anything. Those kinda things are either scams or they have strings attached to them. Either which way, best stay paranoid.

Checklist:


Funny Anecdote(s):
I received the Nokia Promo SMS a while back. All I did was lol. A friend of mine's wife got nailed by the Nigerian banker scam (They had 4k in their savings account at the time. I've also received a number of "Great Promo" SMSes:
Quote: "Get a Blackberry Curve 9xxx and a free phone of your choice. To find out more, reply with the word YES or reply with STOP to opt out."

That last one is actually also a way of obtaining phone numbers to sell to telemarketers.

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Libervurto
18
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Joined: 30th Jun 2006
Location: On Toast
Posted: 8th Jun 2012 17:26
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Quote: "That last one is actually also a way of obtaining phone numbers to sell to telemarketers."

If you reply STOP does it still get you? I have done that before.

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bitJericho
22
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Location: United States
Posted: 8th Jun 2012 17:34
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Quote: "They had 4k in their savings account at the time."


Could have been worse. People have disappeared after flying out to nigeria due to those scams.

Quote: "If you reply STOP does it still get you? I have done that before."


Most definitely.

darkBIT TGC Torrent Tracker / File Server - AGK Chat: #agk : irc.devhat.net
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Dark Frager
15
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Location: The Void.
Posted: 8th Jun 2012 17:46
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Quote: "If you reply STOP does it still get you? I have done that before."


When you text them back it tells them the number that sent the message.


Vote Dark Frager!!!
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Libervurto
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Posted: 8th Jun 2012 18:19
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So how do you stop these messages?

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bitJericho
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Posted: 8th Jun 2012 18:49 Edited at: 8th Jun 2012 18:50
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Quote: "So how do you stop these messages?"


You don't. It is flat out spammers that are sending em. You could raise a complaint with your phone company and ask them what to do.

Some states have laws against such things, with fairly stiff penalties. You could start gathering evidence and sue.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sue+telemarketer

It should cost you next to nothing to sue. If it does, you're doing it wrong.

darkBIT TGC Torrent Tracker / File Server - AGK Chat: #agk : irc.devhat.net
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nonZero
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Location: Dark Empire HQ, Otherworld, Silent Hill
Posted: 8th Jun 2012 22:39
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Quote: "Quote: "So how do you stop these messages?"

You don't."


Pretty much best to ignore them. The minute you reply, your number is saved and you're screwed unless you change your number. You can try blocking the numbers that text/call you but you'll find that most of these people have a ton of numbers and change them regularly.

It's funny, but on the topic of telemarketers, we're having a new wave of them lately. Since my country brought in SIM registration, it has actually severely worsened (are our telecom bureau's databases getting hacked I wonder? Or are service providers/their staff selling our info?) I miss the days of prepaid, instant-activation SIMS at 2.99 ZAR each. I was a ghost back then too. No accounts in my name, nothing registered to my true identity and definitely no real online persona. I felt so free and invulnerable back then. *Sigh* Good old days.

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