If you are like me, you get several

junk email messages each day.

Many of these are LIES.

Phishing emails are messages

that claim to be one thing

and are really something else.

i receive messages claiming

to be from Google.

They even display the Google logo.

An example of such a message

stated that 3 lost emails of mine

had been found.

So many things were wrong about this “Google” message,

yet, on the surface, it can be convincing to the unobservant.

      1. The message came from “GmailReminder.”

           In Mac Mail, i clicked on the down arrow to the right of the sender

           and saw that it was from cstaqcz@laporte.com.

           This is not a Google email address.

       2. The message is not addressed to my gmail address,

            but to another email address of mine.

            Why would Google not send a warning notice to my gmail address

            Gmail does not even know the email address in this message.

       3. The link embedded in the message, “3 lost emails has been found.”

           is to http://boomcommunityarts.com/wp-content/.....tml

           This is not gmail.com. 

           The domain boomcommunityarts.com has be usurped by the bad guys.

           Consider the grammar of the statement, “3 lost emails has been found.”  

           Google is better at grammar than this.

       4. Hover over the button, “View emails.”  The URL is the same

           bogus address as embedded in the “3 lost emails…” link.

      5. Generously, there is a statement which says that i can “opt-out here.”

          The word “here” has the same boomcommunityarts link embedded.

No matter what link you may click, you are directed to

a deceptive and dangerous website.

You should not click on any of the links in a message like this.

Just delete the message, shake your head in disgust and continue on

with your life.

Chances are that the bad guys will tire of sending you unanswered messages

and stop sending this junk.

Never fear, there will be someone else just as deceptive to take their place.

If you are using Mac Mail and the junk message arrives in your Inbox,

you can select the message, then click on the “Junk” button in the header.

This will teach your computer that messages like this are Junk.

At least new messages like this one will arrive in your “Junk” mailbox

where you can delete them at your leisure.

i know i just said not (i meant never) to click on links in this

type of Junk email.

But i am a professional and i did click on the link in the example above.

What will i not do for bLog content?

The page that opened in Safari was a fake warning from “Apple Support.”

The page comes complete with a bad copy and paste of the AppleCare logo.

It includes a Mac iOS Error Code: HT201155.

This is interesting, since iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system and i am

on an iMac running macOS.

Also, there is no such error code as HT201155.

The page insists that i call an 855 number since a “pre-scan” found

28.1% System damage and 3 Viruses.

A web page cannot run a scan of your computer without your permission.

Everything you see on a page like this is FALSE.

Clicking to close the dialog box reinforces the message of the web page

by popping up the dialog in an unending loop.

This is an attempt to convince you that Safari is really hung up

and compromised.

Now for the kicker.

As soon as i arrived at the web page, Safari began downloading files

to my computer.

My Downloads folder has been set to be my Desktop,

so my Desktop began to fill with files.

In the time it took me to Force Quit Safari, 931 files were downloaded

to my Desktop.

One file that completed downloading was an unknown plain text file

containing the number “57.”

While harmless, these files could have been dangerous.

They could have been installer files which invite the user to install

the malware/phishing/spyware warned of on the malicious website.

Ironic.

The goal of the “Tech Support” company at the 855 number is

to charge your credit card for a tech support contract.

This can be an annual contract for hundreds of dollars every year.

If you are not convinced that you have a problem after seeing the

bogus website and hundreds of downloads, the fake tech will try

to get you to let him control your computer.

While controlling your computer, the tech will have you install

fake virus detection software and/or show you error logs.

The underlying UNIX operating system of your Mac handles

and logs errors all the time.

These logs can look very scary to the uninformed, yet they are normal.

In rare cases, a fake tech can do damage to your computer.

He can also install a “back door” to be used later for spying on you.

Behavior is at the heart of avoiding this kind of social manipulation.

Scrutinize email that you receive.

Even if it looks legitimate to you, do not use the link included.  

Instead, go to the website on your own terms.

In the example above, you would go to https://appleid.apple.com

and sign it with your Apple ID on your own terms.

If there is a problem with your account, that is the first thing

they will tell you on the legitimate website.

Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet.

Many failing websites take money from lying, bait and switch advertisers.

A web page can say anything the web designer wants.

LIES can be convincing.

Be the User of your computer, not the used.