Warning about Amazon and/or Focus Camera

[Scottes]

I run my own mail server, which gives me the ability to create email addresses whenver I wish. I use a different email address for almost all sites I visit. It lets me track spam, and helps increase security.

So today I got an email "from Amazon" emailed to the one-time email I created for Focus Camera. The email wanted me to update some user information for their database. Needless to say, alarms went off.

The email was not from Amazon, but rather an site called klopperz.com disguising itself as Amazon. The email was sent to the email I created for Focus Camera. That email address does not exist anywhere else in the world except for my system and Focus Camera's database.

Now I know that Amazon is not involved in any way - that's obvious. Focus Camera is involved in some way, probably not intentionally, but they may have had their systems compromised. Possibly they sold my email address to some spammer. Maybe it was an inside job. I don't know, but they're involved somehow.

So now I deleted the email address used for Focus Camera, I'll be contacting the credit card company used for the order I placed with them, and I'll be visiting ResellerRatings to put in a bad word. And I will never, ever visit Focus Camera again. Ever. They are off my list.


Some tips to save yourself in a situation like this:

1) Make sure that you use a different login password for every site you might order from. Not everyone can create unique email addresses, but keeping the password different will certainly help.

2) Keep track of all your orders. I saved the HTML confirmation page so I know what info was in their database, including the credit card so I can cancel that card and get a new one.

3) Never, EVER, click on some link that says anything about updating info. If you think it's legitimate then go to the web site like you normally would and log into your account. Or call the company to see if they sent the email. And only deal with reputable companies.


BTW, I know what I'm doing with this kind of stuff, so I clicked on the link. (DO NOT DO THINGS LIKE THIS unless you *know* that you know what you're doing!) FireFox caught the request and smelled something fishy and actually warned me that I was about to do something potentially dangerous. What a browser!

[aam1234]

Hi Scottes,

I'm missing something from your description. Where exactly did you place your order with.

Pardon me if I didn't follow the events mentioned.

[Scottes]

I placed an order with Focus Camera, using an email address that existed only for that order. Then I got an hoax/fraud/spam email sent to that address. So the sender of that hoax/fraud/spam email somehow got that email address from Focus. Somehow.

[aam1234]

Got it now. Was confused by mentioning amazon.

[tommykjensen]

Scottes, I have my own mailserver too and use same tactics as You. Though I have not been consequent since I started doing it rather late. Furtunately that has not compromised my email.

There is actully only one site that have abused my email address. A danish site called www.shopman.dk establish contact between buyers and sellers and advertise with very low prices. But they are breaking the danish laws because they refuse to handle warrenty issues.

Also I experienced getting on theit spamlist and despite the fact I have repeatedly demanded they remove my email address they keep sending me spam. I have never bought anything from them or registered on their site but still they got my email address. I know that nobody that have my email address would add my address to a spamlist. Its a month since the last spam mail which resulted in me sending a very angry mail to the spammer and report him to the danish consumer board.

The first 3 or 4 times I requested my adress to be removed the spammer said that the automatic removal which I tried first failed to remove my address. He promised to remove my address manually. A week later a new spam mail was received.

I HATE spammers. Unfortunately it is unlikely that the problem will ever be solved because there will always be a country that won't make laws against spammers or won't punish spammers with fines high enough to make the spamming unprofitable.

In Denmark though when enough people report spammers they are taken to court and get fines big enough for them to learn not to do it again. I wish all other countries would do the same! A danish company was fined approx. $70.000 for sending 15.000 spam fax'es. Thats $5 per recipient. Imagine if the big spammers that send millions of emails got a $5 fine per email receipient? Even though this was a great example I think the fine should be even higher, maybe $20+ per recipient.

[evilenglishman]

canon like to give your mail address out too.

[scottbergerphoto]

Great Thread. Many fraudlent e mails look identical to the real thing. I have received e mails that looked like they came from Citibank and Earthlink, that looked genuine and were not. It's called "Phishing"Never update account information using an e mail supplied link. Always enter the address to the web site yourself in your browser. That's the only way you can be sure you are going where you think you are.
Regards,
Scott

[aam1234]

So true Scott. Once I was lead to a hotmail sign-in, but got suspicious. It turned out to be a fake one.

[fredpb]

I use a spam filter which works very very well.

Called "K9". Free too.

http://www.keir.net/k9.html