Warning The Domain Website Phishing Scam
I awoke today to work on my website, and noticed that I had a comment that quite literally startled me.
In fact, it startled me so much that I actually thought for a moment that I had forgotten to pay a bill or had been fined for some obscure reason.
I am not sure if anyone else here has gotten comments such as this, but I just wanted to post it here because I have noticed in the news that a lot of scams are being conducted right now, and this appears to be one of them.
I did not fall for the scam, and after noticing a few things about the comment, I realized that there are pertinent things to show that whomever submitted this comment, is a very sneaky, vile and dishonest individual.
This is the message that was submitted:
ATTN: Best Pets – Pet Care Tips & Training Information INTERNET SITE SOLUTIONS
This notice ENDS ON: Apr 18, 2020
We have not gotten a payment from you.
We’ve attempted to contact you yet were unable to reach you.
Please Go To: They placed a URL here ASAP.
For information and also to make a discretionary payment for solutions.
04182020023342.
A few things that I noticed once I had calmed down from my knee-jerk reaction of wanting to pay for whatever it was they said I was due them.
One: The individuals name is Rusty Reel and he submitted an email that was noreply@ my domain, it was not his own personal email address, but was in fact the very email address that I use on that particular site as admin.
Two: The notice ends on date, is the same date as the comment. I believe this is designed to make one feel as if they have NO time to handle whatever it is that they are seeking you to handle.
Three: Yes, I clicked the link, as I said, it was a knee-jerk reaction. The link went to a site that had numerous "Red Flags".
IMPORTANT: Failure to complete your registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this proposal making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.
Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine registration so your customers can locate you on the web.
We are pleased to offer you the convenience of online payments
.
Kindly fill the form below
Upon successful submission you will be redirected to payment page where you can choose the most convenient payment method
It then has several payment options, that range from $75.00 to $499.00
The part that states "This Is not An Invoice" is the part that made me pause, I could not figure out exactly what I was being told to pay for.
When I tried to leave the site, a pop-up appeared that stated:
Final Notice: Failure to complete your registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this proposal making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.
After I left the site, I did some google research and found many sites with information that warns about this type of scam.
It seems that this type of scam has been around for a couple of years, is increasing in nature right now due to current world events, and these "notifications" are being sent via comments to blogs, via email and also even via regular snail mail in the guise of actual invoices.
And worse yet, it says that sometimes the links they use may redirect using JavaScript that is designed to add malware to one's computer.
I just wanted to share this information with others here, to warn others, because honestly, this really did cause me to get a bit anxious this morning. I was afraid I had forgotten some bill and was about to lose the site.
I'm sure it would not have alarmed me as much if I had waited to work until after I had my coffee, but alas, I did not....and now I get to go run my virus scanner YIPEE (not a great introduction to my Saturday morning).
Recent Comments
169
I had one just today.I've lived in Spain for 17 years and today I received an email stating I had not paid my monthly instalments on my UK television licence. Pay now or we revoke your licence it carried on. When I lived in the UK I did not use monthly payments.
What licence? They are about be aware. Delete them.
The classic of course, is the old Paypal email scam Telling you that there had been interference on your a/c, to fill in your details to confirm the account is yours. Paypal always uses your name, these scammers it's "Dear Paypal customer" from an email address in Africa.
Be aware people. Check everything twice.
best wishes Keep safe
John
Yup, but I think I'd quite like to have a little retreat in the Canaries somewhere John.....the cold is getting to me!!
Mark
Thank you fore the information John, this is yet another scam I have never heard of, it seems as if there are so many scammers and phishers that there is no way any legal action could ever put a stop to all of it.
Hi Maria,
There are a lot of scammers about in different guises. The old Paypal scam has been around quite some time. Beware out there. and be safe.
It's 3 am here in Spain. I,m going back to bed. Goodnight.
best wishes
John
My goodness...wow...
I don't know why - after all this time, things like this still surprise me. They shouldn't. Maybe I'm still too unaware of the dark side.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Another reminder of how careful we all need to be.
Scammers are gonna scam...
Stay safe!
Susan
Thanks for posting this. It seems there are all kinds of scammers out there and unfortunately, there will be no end to them either.
We just have to be wary of them and be careful not to react. This one, in particular, would never get me since all my websites are hosted with WA and an e-mail for renewal or any form of payment would have a signature block from Kyle and Carson in it.
That keeps me sane or protected from this type of scam in particular. Thanks for the heads up though.
I wish you the best!
Bob
Yeah, I did notice that. That was my point. 😂🤣😂
Because my websites are being hosted with WA, any notification would be through email...not comments on my website.
That would flag it as a scam right off the bat.
No offense intended. 👍
Have an outstanding day!!
Thanks for sharing this Maria. There are more scams out there than ever before. My elderly parents came 1 day away from having their life savings stolen a couple of years ago by a very sophisticated scam claiming to be The Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes here in the USA. Be careful out there peeps. Covid-19 is not the only despicable, sneaky, slimy, evil bug out there!
Ric, I have not heard of the publisher's clearinghouse in some time. It's a horrible shame that anyone would use that brand to try and swindle others. Despicable, sneaky, slimy and evil are just a few select words for these scammers.
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Thanks for the info. A lot of these emails have been going around recently (not just website stuff, and used to investigate this stuff). In the future, never click on the links in these types of phishing emails (I know you said it was a knee jerk reaction).
For my two cents, I would make sure you have current virus protection and run it right now if you haven't. It might also be a good idea to clean your cookies and cache.
You are welcome, and Thank you, I have scanned, used system restore, scanned again, and finally think I finally have it back to running smoothly. If I have any more issues, I am probably just going to reformat it completely, but I hope I do not have to do this.
Sadly that might be the best bet. I also think you should change all your passwords as well (more of a precautionary measure).
I hope I won't have to, but yes, I have already changed my most important passwords already. Thank you :)