How were the addresses stolen?

14 Nov 2010 08:54:26

Mark Ford

My ageing Mac-using cousin [and if I describe her as ageing she has to be really old] tells me this story about her more aged Mac- using friend.

"... she had her address book hacked into and so far has heard from 14 people who have received an Email from her saying that she had been abducted by gunpoint in Nigeria, knocked on the head, managed to escape and got back to the hotel where her passport had been handed in, but she needed 200 USD to get back home and could they help!!!!"

My cousin's own address wasn't one of the 14.

Now, I don't think she had anything 'hacked into' but what did happen here? How did someone get those addresses?

Re: How were the addresses stolen?

14 Nov 2010 17:44:28

Mick Burrell

I suspect one of her friends has a computer with a virus. Her address and the addresses of those 14 friends are all on the computer and so have been sent the mail. I expect there are lots of other addresses of people who don't know her on there too. They will also have had the mail but as it relates to someone they don't know it will have just been dismissed as the scam it is.

To explain further, if my computer had the virus and everyone in my address list was sent an email about you, then all the WAMUG people I have would know you and perhaps think it genuine but my other friends who don't know you would also get the mail but recognise it as a scam.

Re: How were the addresses stolen?

15 Nov 2010 16:32:29

Mark Ford

Thanks Mick! I suspect that I haven't heard the whole of the story yet.

Re: How were the addresses stolen?

17 Nov 2010 00:08:27

Gordon Clyne

Micks right, Its not her Mac address book that got hacked, it's a classic attack on a PC email system which generates an outbound email using her address as the sender of the scam email to avoid the norton and symantec checks on sending junk from the hosts proper email.