Google Pharmacy Spam

Search engine giant Google may have already launched a number of successful products but contrary to what several spam mails claim, the tech giant has NOT YET ventured on a Google pharmacy. Here's a few text from the misleading Google online pharmacy spam that's going around right now:

"We've just launched a pharmaceutical interfaces for Google, as well as several new features that will improve the Google experience for the people buying pills and using pharmaceutical interfaces.

We are really pleased to have worked on a launch that will help people use pharmacy and surgery.

We are currently working to make it available to even more users with more language interfaces.

Visit Google's Accredited Pharmacy"

Things You Should Know
1. There is no such thing as Google pharmacy. It is likely that the cyber crooks who distributed the Google pharmacy spam are exploiting the popularity and name of the brand. The message may provide what is supposed to be a link to the Google pharmacy website but you will either be directed to a malicious page or an online pharmacy site that is NOT owned by Google.

2. Flag the Google pharmacy email as spam. If you have received the message, it is best that you mark the mail as spam as this may help your email service provider filter out messages like this.



3. If you have friends who have received the same google pharmacy spam mail, share this article and tell them Google online pharmacy is a hoax.

Your Video on the TOP of YouTube

Do you post videos on Youtube? For videos that you might have wanted to become viral, you may be looking forward to having your work seen by hundreds or thousands of viewers. Unfortunately, scammers are also spreading misleading messages via email that tell you your video is on top of youtube.

YouTube Service sent you a message: Your video on the TOP of YouTube

Even if the link you are asked to visit appears to be a youtube page where you can view which of your videos is trending, this youtube email is actually a fake. This is not the first time that spammers use the name of the popular video hosting site Youtube. Other variations of youtube spam mail have already been distributed in the past. Examples of the contents or title of these mails are as follow:

YouTube Administration has sent you a message:
Your video has been approved

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNPTQAky&feature=topvideos_entertainment
You can reply to this message by visiting your inbox.

YouTube Administration sent you a message: Illegal video warning

What to Do if You Received the Fake Youtube Email Spam

1. Ignore these messages and DO NOT click on any of the attached link that comes with these mails. Remember, this email is a hoax and it is likely unsafe to follow the links attached by the spammers.
2. Mark the email as spam. By doing this, you "notify" your email account that such messages are unwanted and spammy. This may help prevent you from receiving the spam again in the future.


3. Share this article to your friends and warn them about the Your Video on the TOP of YouTube emails.

How to Stop Your Email from Sending Out Spam

It's irritating to receive spam mails but it is far more worrisome when your friends tell you that, unknown to you, you are sending them spam. 

The situation is not only embarrassing, it may even cause your contacts to flag your mails as spam. This can potentially result in your friends and business contacts not receiving and reading important information you send to them online because your email adress is flagged.

"Why is My Email Sending out Spam?"
There are several possible reasons why your email is sending out spam. First is the possibility of somebody getting hold of your username and password (via phishing sites). It is also possible that a malware in a computer you used to access your email is causing your account to send out spam.

"My email is sending spam! What do I do?"
You may want to try to do the following to prevent your email from sending out more spam. Please leave a comment which of the methods worked and which did not.

Scan your computer for viruses and malwares.
Your computer may have files/ programs that compromised your email account.

Change your password and email account details.
If somebody has gotten hold of your password and other information in your email, you may want to change those details ASAP if you can still access your account using your old data.

Remove your contacts
In cases when spam is sent out to people in your address book, you may want to delete your contacts to prevent those in your address book from receiving automated spam from you. Make sure to have a back up copy of your contacts' emails.

Steve Jobs Spam on Email

If you have recently received an email about Steve Jobs, be on guard for email messages that say the Apple co founder is still alive. The spam mail which may have one of the following subjects/ titles:

Steve Jobs Alive!
Steve Jobs: Not Dead Yet!
Is Steve Jobs Really Dead?
Steve Jobs Not Dead!

is actually just one of the growing number of scams that bank on Apple's recent announcement of the its iconic leader's death.

What to Do with Spam Emails
Once you receive such spam mail, make sure to flag the message as spam. By doing so, you are helping your email account identify spam so messages and emails that come from the same sender or source can be blocked from sending you more spam emails in the future.



Potentially Dangerous Links and Files
If you have received one of these Steve Jobs is Alive messages, you are advised not to click on any link or download any attachment that comes with the message as these may just lead you to a dangerous page or site that distributes the TrojanDownloader:Win32/Waledac.C [Microsoft] or you can potentially download or install similar files and programs that can compromise the security of your computer.

Steve Jobs Scams on Facebook

The Steve Jobs scam messages are also similarly distributed on Facebook. Messages announcing that a company is distributing ipad and other Apple products for free in memory of Steve Jobs are circulating in the social network. Do not repost these messages or click on links because these messages are likely Facebook Survey scams.

Make sure to tell your friends about the Steve Jobs hoax emails and messages by sharing this post on Facebook.

Deactivated Discover Bank Online Account

Beware account holders of Discover Bank if you have received this email because this is another scam. The spam mail will ask you to click on a link supposedly to "reactivate" your account but this is likely a phishing attempt that can allow cybercriminals from stealing your account information such as password.

Dear Customer:

Due to several Failed attemps to Access to your Discover Bank® Online Account , we Temporary deactivated your Account for your protection. You have to Reactivate Your Discover Bank® Online Account within the next 24 Hours in Order to Continue using it .

Please Click here to Reactive your account .


Sincerely,
Discover Bank® Customer Service
Code #CH905242

Discover Bank. All Rights Reserved.

IRS Notification Letter

Warning: A malicious email is currently circulating targeting tax payers as victims: the fake IRS notification letter email.*

The IRS notification email scam works by making recipients click on a file that is supposed to help them comply with missing IRS requirements. This IRS Notification Letter tells recipients that the Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Source was unable to process their tax return and will entice them to download the "attached notification and list of missing documents".

This IRS Notification Letter attachment actually contains a malware that when launched, may install a malware in your PC.

Here's the IRS Notification bogus email:

Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Source
Important information about your tax return

We are unable to process your tax return

We received your tax return. However, we are unable to process the return as field. Our records indicate that the person identified as the primary taxpayer or spouse on the tax return did not provided all the required documents shown on the tax form. Our records are based on information received from the Social Security Administration.
Based on this information, the tax account for the individual has been locked
What you need to do
Print out the attached notification and list of missing documents, fill it in, add the documents and send the following information to the adress shown in the attached notification.

List of required documents:
1. A copy of this letter
2. Notification letter
3. A photocopy of valid U.S. Federal or State Government issued identification.

Spam mails such as this one are often characterized by false information and bogus attachments. Some spam emails are intended to market products while some, such as this particular spam email are distributed to spread viruses and malwares. Be careful at all time with opening emails and attachments that you receive in your email.

If you have received this IRS notification letter email spam in your mailbox, make sure to mark this email as spam and do not download or click on any link contained in this spam email.

How to Stop Receiving Fanbox Spam

A lot of email users experience problem with fanbox and question it spam messages. I have been receiving fanbox and question it messages for several months now. I started to receive these messages from my friends but later on, I have been receiving fanbox messages from people I do not know.

I already decided that these fan box question it emails are actually spam messages that I need to ge
t rid of. Unfortunately, I still receive fan box and question it messages regardless that I have already marked them as spam.

What is fanbox?
Fanbox is the rebranded sms.ac but I would like to adopt gadgetpanel.com's description of fanbox, "Fanbox is SPAM. They will phish your password and SPAM your friends." Take note of the word phishing. How to stop spam from fanbox?

How to Stop Receiving Fanbox Spam

Mark the fanbox email you receive as spam.
This may not totally stop fanbox from sending you with spam messages but this can blacklist the sender. Once marked as spam, fanbox mails may no longer go directly to your inbox but to your spam or junk mails.

To disable fanbox spam, click the "opt out" option from the fanbox email.

Click "Never" and "Save". I will try to do this when I receive my next fanbox spam mail and see if this will work.

Update August 18:

I have not been receiving fanbox spam mails for quite a while now until this week. A new wave of fanbox fan messages are arriving in my spam folder. The message comes from NOREPLY@fanboxnotes.com with the subject msg me on yahoo wants to be your loyal fan" and the email even has my own name on it!

Here is what the message contains:
Msg me on yahoo wants to be your loyal fan!

Automatically sign in to view msg me on yahoo's profile and/or photo, and accept or reject her fan request.
You can change the frequency of this type of notification. Visit our Terms of Service or Privacy Policy.
FanBox - 255 G Street #723, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Spam protection
Computer users can do something about the prevalence of spam and viruses by taking advantage of spam blockers. It is even recommended that big companies that are in need of email spam filtering make use of anti spam appliance. A spam appliance is a hardware device that is used together with a spam filter software for instant messaging and email filtering and spam solutions.