Allison 2,369 Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 I am posting this here, to keep it among the private forum. After our recent upgrade, we are noticing some interesting side effects. One is that, although spam bots can no longer fill our validating section, we seem to be attracting a new class of spammer. One who employs the "personal touch". Please let me know if you receive any strange personal messages or emails (from non-members, or new members who joined just to contact you), and I would recommend that you do not respond to such a message. This type of spamming is called "phishing". From Wikipedia: In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites (Youtube, Facebook, Myspace), auction sites (eBay), online banks (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase), online payment processors (PayPal), or IT Administrators (Yahoo, ISPs, corporate) are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose URL and look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using SSL with strong cryptography for server authentication it is practically impossible to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users [2], and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies [3]. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures. More here. We have disabled the pm and email system for new or non-members who have gone through the automatic validating system, and will check each person personally, before granting them those features. Thanks for your help on this, as it is a constant process to keep ahead of the spammers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamacee 1 Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 Oh....I get it now...kept hearing about spambots and all that popped in my mind were the fembots from Austin Powers...Doh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Allison 2,369 Posted January 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 That's why I only post pictures of my dog. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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