Lately we have been receiving emails from Google asking us to update our billing information. Usually this is a Phishing attempt making users log into a site that looks similar to a real site but is really a site hosted by scam artists, we will refer to them as the Scum of the Earth. They trick you into inputting your email, password and credit card information into their system. They can then take that information and use it however they see fit. These people are truly the Scum of the Earth.

Google has been relatively immune to such attacks but the SCUM is getting better and better at what they do.

Below is an email from such SCUM.

In this email they provide a link(disabled for security). This link does not go to Google Adwords instead it goes to http://adwrods .google .select .175ja1 .cn /select /index.html. You can find this out by hovering over the link in your email. A window should popup showing the actual link.

Let’s take apart that link

The actual site it goes to is 175ja1.cn. AND it starts off with Adwrods.

This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message.

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Dear GoogleAdwords Customer, In order to update your billing information, please sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com, and update your billing information. Your account will be reactivated as soon as you have entered your payment details. Your ads will show immediately if you decide to pay for clicks via credit or debit card. If you decide to pay by direct debit, we may need to receive your signed debit authorization before your ads start running, depending on your location. If you choose bank transfer, your ads will show as soon as we receive your first payment. (Payment options vary by location.) Thank you for choosing AdWords. We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

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The Google AdWords Team No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.1/1352 – Release Date: 3/31/2008 10:13 AM

This is a simple little email that can cause so much damage so please beware of people -nee SCUM – trying to get your information.

These types of scam are run by the worst type of people the world has ever seen. Typically they pay people in third world countries to create and distribute these types of emails and all the other Spam emails you get. Unfortunately it is almost impossible for us to stop this type of Phishing due to the current world economic climate. People in third world countries need to eat and when you have desperate people that will do almost anything then you have SCUM that will take advantage of them.

Phishing – How Can You Help?

Senator Patrick Leahy introduced an anti Phishing bill in 2005 that should help us fight those amongst our borders but what do we do about the SCUM that live in under governed nations? Well that’s the hard question. The first thing that comes to mind is some Indiana Jones type person but he doesn’t exist. Thankfully Blackwater does. I’d be willing to invest a small amount of money if you are to hire Blackwater to eradicate SCUM. I think if everyone who gets these emails pitched in 50 bucks we could rid ourselves of all spam email.

I know that seems impossible but ‘dare to dream’ right?

We may not have a fool proof way of ending these types of emails that trick us into giving away our information but we can educate ourselves to the tricks and dangers of Phishing. If we can become smarter than SCUM than we can hopefully stop them from ripping off innocent people.

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Back to Indiana Jones; I can see action movies in the future where the Bad Guys are all spammers and the Good Guys have to travel to far off mountain caves to take them out.

Jason McElweenie

For more information please contact the Search Engine Marketing Team at Schipul – sem@schipul.com