Warning: IM Bot

[Methos]

I received an IM from someone today that was extremely suspicious. Especially considering I haven't talked to them via IM in a year or more. The IM consisted of only a link that sent me to a page titled 'MSN Pics for Friends'. It then asks you for your email address and password to sign in. The address itself was suspicious. Also, if you read their Terms and Conditions you'll find some very bad statements...

By using our service/website you hereby fully authorize TST Management, Inc to send messages of a commercial nature via Instant Messages and E-Mails on behalf of third parties via the information
you provide us

We may temporarily access your MSN account to do a combination
of the following:
1. Send Instant Messages to your friends promoting this site.
2. Introduce new entertaining sites to your friends via Instant Messages.

ANY LIABILITY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES CAUSED OR ALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, SHALL BE STRICTLY LIMITED
TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY OR ON BEHALF OF THE SUBSCRIBER TO THIS SERVICE.

You also understand that by temporarily accessing your msn account, TST Management, Inc is NOT agreeing to MSN's terms of use and therefore not bound by them.

If any provision of this agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not effect any other provisions of this agreement, and this agreement shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had not been contained herein.

It also states that the legal jurisdiction of this site is upheld by the government of Panama.

I won't say who sent this to me, but it was from here at CFC. I'm merely passing it on, so that any of the rest of you who get it know not to give them your information. I did not sign in, as I was waiting for confirmation from the one who IM'ed me, yet he wasn't online. Further checking indicated the malicious nature.

Obvious Note: Just to clarify, I'm posting this as just another poster. I am not posting as a mod, nor am I implying this is a CFC related problem.

 

[philippe]

I had a link too like that from the same compagny, only with the excuse it was a site that said it could show you who blocked you.

I found it immediatly suspicious (especially after it was my ex who send the link )

when i found out you can only lay charges in the courts of Panama, well that was the nail of the scam-coffin

but unfortunaly, these things are not aimed at mine or methos's audience.

It's aimed at poeple who can't think further, like teenagers and kiddo's, I bet a lot of persons are already scammed now. it's a big shame and it think there should be some action against it.

 

[Bamspeedy]

I got an email today telling me that my charter.net (email) account needed to be renewed otherwise I would lose it, because the company was deleting old accounts that no longer are being used to make room for new ones. It asked me to submit my username and password.

Charter did recently change where I need to go to, to login to my email (they've been warning us for months about it, it finally went into effect today), so it could fool some people. Thinking this was suspicious (they should always have access to stuff like that themselves) I looked at who it came from and it didn't look like any legitimate address (Charter was nowhere in the address, only in the subject title) so I reported it as spam and was going to contact Charter, but I see they already have a 'phishing' advisory on their site warning about this kind of scam.

 

[Masquerouge]

I've got to say that the Terms and Conditions made me laugh out loud.

"you agree that we will abuse your MSN Messenger to spam your friends in total violation of MSN's terms of use"...