Beware Fake eCards
21 August 2007
Who: Faculty, Staff, & Students
What: Beware SPAM Messages
Unwanted messages are showing up in user email inboxes that are not being eliminated by our mail filtering servers. These messages vary in content but generally include a URL linking to an IP address and look typically like this:
To: your_address@uncg.edu
From: fake_address@nowhere.com
Neighbor(fake_address@nowhere.com) has created Funny ecard for you at greetingnecards.com.
To see your custom Funny ecard, simply click on the following link:
http://127.0.0.1/
These messages are an attempt to trick users into clicking on the links. When the web browser reaches the remote website, it will attempt to install malware on the browser's machine. It is a bad idea to click on any links sent in email no matter how official they appear. Whenever you need to reach a website on the internet, you should simply type in the address name directly in the browser (and not a number like the one above).
The perpetrators of this type of attack constantly adjust the characteristics of their assault in an attempt to defeat email filters. Consequently, while UNCG's filters eliminate the vast majority of unwanted mail, some still gets through while new attack vectors are fingerprinted and new filters implemented.
For more information, contact 6-TECH at (336) 256-TECH (8324).