Spam Scam

As any e-mail user knows, Spam is part of life. There are software packages out there designed to help with Spam, Viruses, Trojans and hacking. I have always recommended that life on the Internet can be a pleasant experience provide you have an anti-virus program and a firewall and keeping these up-to-date is almost as important as getting the programs themselves.

Spam blockers are a different matter. I know people who swear by them. I think they block as many of the things you want as well as the things you don't. So I don't use them.

On Monday 17th October 2005 I received an e-mail which came from SpenceMusic. Hold on a second, isn't that me? I checked the label on my shorts and sure enough I run SpenceMusic. So how come I received an e-mail from myself that I did not know that I had sent to me?

Initially I laughed it off as the usual spam. Then I got another, and another, and, wait a minute, another? Hang on, that last one was sent to the newsletter e-mail address. That means everyone who has signed up to receiving newsletters from SpenceMusic would have received that.

Then I noticed that there was a zip file attached. I know that zip files are great things that can compact lots of information into a small file that would take up less space. I also know that executable zip files can carry viruses and all sorts of nasty stuff. So I sent an e-mail to the newsletter address warning people not to open the zip file. I also mentioned that I always use my name, Mark Hughes, in my emails - not a name that suggests that there is a whole raft of people in the back room like "The Spencemusic Support Team".

I thought that was all I would need to do and then the problem would go away. Only it didn't. The e-mails kept coming, and coming. The list of names of the false recipients began to grow and grow. Then the newsletter address came up again. I needed to do something now. So I deleted the newsletter email address. That will stop the pesky e-mails getting to you. I then recreated a new newsletter e-mail group but with a different address - so no one has been lost.

Then on Tuesday 18th October 2005 my anti-virus program started detecting viruses in those zip files. The same virus. Which virus? "W32.Mytob.KU.mm" if that means anything to you, not that it should. Apparently it is a "mass-mailing worm that opens a back door and lowers security settings on the compromised computer." Basically, it leaves you open to attack. As I said earlier, it pays to keep your antivirus definitions up-to-date.

So, where are these messages REALLY coming from? There is a little known method of identifying the source. In Outlook Express it is to right-click on the e-mail and select "Properties". For Outlook itself select "Options". Within the information lurks the originating server. A Greek radio station - I'm not saying which one (I may be stupid, but I'm not that stupid).

You may be asking, what can you do about this? It's a good question. Basically nothing. I contacted my hosting company who said "your being spoofed". Yeah, I got that. What can I do about it? "Tell SpamCop" - they determine the origin of unwanted email and reports it to the relevant Internet service providers. So I did this. However, in the meantime, I have to ride out the constant wave of spam with virus attachments.

What do these e-mails look like? Please don't wish these things on yourself. They are the work of cowards, and malicous little shits. However, in this case (and I'm still receiving the bloody things) select any item from the following sections and you get the idea.

Message Titles

• *DETECTED* Online User Violation
• EMAIL ACCOUNT SUSPENSION
• Important Notification
• Members Support
• Notice of account limitation
• Security measures
• Warning Message: Your services near to be closed.
• You have successfully updated your password
• Your Account is Suspended
• Your Account is Suspended For Security Reasons
• Your password has been successfully updated

Messages Sent From

admin, administrator, info, mail, register, service, support and webmaster - all apparently sent from @spencemusic.co.uk

Messages Sent To

3dnewsletter, adam, alex, andrew, anna, bill, bob, brenda, brent, claudia, dan, dave, david, debby, frank, fred, george, helen, james, jane, jerry, jim, jimmy, joe, john, jose, josh, julie, kevin, leo, linda, maria, mark, mary, matt, michael, mike, newsletter, paul, peter, ray, robert, sales, sam, sandra, serg, smith, stan, steve, ted and tom at spencemusic.co.uk

Actual Messages

Dear user <insert name from Messages Sent To list>,

It has come to our attention that your Spencemusic User Profile ( x ) records are out of date. For further details see the attached document.

Thank you for using Spencemusic!
The Spencemusic Support Team

or

Dear Spencemusic Member,

Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of unsolicited spam messages during the recent week. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and confirm the attached document so you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to cancel your membership.

Virtually yours,
The Spencemusic Support Team

or

Dear Spencemusic Member,

We have temporarily suspended your email account <insert name from Messages Sent To list>@spencemusic.co.uk.

This might be due to either of the following reasons:

1. A recent change in your personal information (i.e. change of address).
2. Submiting invalid information during the initial sign up process.
3. An innability to accurately verify your selected option of subscription due to an internal error within our processors.
See the details to reactivate your Spencemusic account.

Sincerely,The Spencemusic Support Team

or

Dear user <insert name from Messages Sent To list>,

You have successfully updated the password of your Spencemusic account.

If you did not authorize this change or if you need assistance with your account, please contact Spencemusic customer service at: <enter name from Messages Sent From list>@spencemusic.co.uk

Thank you for using Spencemusic!
The Spencemusic Support Team

Zip Files

• accepted-password.zip
• account-info.zip
• account-password.zip
• account-report.zip
• chi.zip
• document.zip
• email-details.zip
• email-password.zip
• gmjwslb.zip
• ilijzw.zip
• important-details.zip
• itfztn.zip
• mzpe.zip
• new-password.zip
• password.zip
• rbf.zip
• readme.zip
• rntohi.zip
• updated-password.zip
• whgt.zip
• woi.zip
  

Page Last Updated: 4th March 2010

© Morley Enterprises 2001-2011. This site, SpenceMusic, is a personal site and is not affiliate with Brian Spence, Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins, Cheeky Bufalloes, Chisholm & Spence, The Wish or anyone else for that matter. Any copyright infringement is accidental. The pictures and music on this site are there for information only. They are not there for any commercial purpose. Therefore, if anyone representing the artist(s) or record company(ies) want me to remove these items please mail me and I will remove them immediately! This site, SpenceMusic, and Morley Enterprises are not responsible for the content of any other websites that are linked from here. So there.