Starting a day back then, … opening my POP mail retriever. Then suddenly this caught my attention …
It was a scam, an email claiming sent by no-minimum.com few days ago (in fact, it was completely not from the real no-minimum.com), coming into my mailbox. But what a luck, back then I have been through three days frustration of getting trouble on displaying HTML message in my POP mail application, but the trouble had saved me a lot!
When I got this email, the HTML page popped up in my Firefox, since I’m using Firefox as my default Internet browser and my POP mail application couldn’t read it.
The attached HTML page then, appeared so convincing … but when I hovered my mouse on the URL, my Firefox caught something different and that was … in the Firefox status bar, hoopla! The actual URL showing up!
(Note: I put an image, not the original HTML so nobody would accidentally click to their URL. This is just a view of how the URL looked like back then.)
Now, do you see the difference? the showed version was some URL like www.no-minimum.com/pages/ blah blah. But the actual one was www.no-minimum.com.|-pages.|-prize_center blah blah! Notice the | character already? And then, if you take a deep look at the URL showed in my Firefox status bar again, the actual dot com URL was x4d.com before the / character!
And if I went to the page (insisting on clicking the URL), sure, the page layout and design looked very similar with the original no-minimum.com page, but again, the browser showed different URL in the location bar. Here was the page looked like after I clicked on the phishing URL. (note: I am showing both of them in thumbnails now, since the full page version are large sized, click on the thumbnails to see the full size images.)
And this one was the next page, after “GET MY PRIZE” button was hit.
The next page was telling me that only a gold member would have the privilege to claim the prize, by sending $9.25 you could become a gold member, but it said that you had to become the gold member first (by paying the $9.25) before you could claim the $400 prize.
Got alerted yet?
Fortunately, I didn’t store enough money in my e-gold account (Remember my tips about e-gold, to not storing too much money in your e-gold account? I got the benefit of obeying my own tips now). And I was also curious, why the webmaster didn’t send the money directly to my e-gold account then just sent me the notification or the confirmation? The webmaster had my record, right?
And … I don’t remember that no-minimum.com ever had this kinda policy. This is suspicious. But later I got the answer, I got later email alerts, twice, from the real webmaster about the previous “Congratulations” email was a scam and phishing mail.
I don’t know how they got my email address for my no-minimum.com account. Anyway, here were the emails of the REAL no-minimum.com webmaster.
First email:
the prize winning mail is a scam mail.
we did not send it.. Be smart and allways check the url it is directed to
the mail is not even send from our server
and also received by non members..just throw it out!!!!
and second mail arrived, from the same REAL webmaster of no-minimum.com:
hi,
First off all thanks to all members for letting us know and the ones
helping us with info.As you could imagine it is not from us.
just check the url.this is a very old scam allready tried on a lot of sites.
people all arround are trying to close this one and all involved down.
the mail header shows it is send at hostigation.com
we informed them as well but last time there was no responce as we mailed them.just look at links.. before clicking them
http://www_no-minimum_com.l-pages.l-priz…q.rv.v3.x4d.comthe link does not go to no-minimum.com but to x4d.com
one can put anything in front but it is the last.com that counts. to say it simple
Also it is not that difficult to make the sender webmaster@no-minimum, just make a new account for your mail.
you would have to fill out there how mails must look when answered. You can let them seem to come from what ever person you want..Further more, same as on other sites, also non members recieved this mail.
And not the all members received it as well..
i have a very low member number and did not receive the mail..
so it is nor originated from our mailing database…, nor originated from our server, not originated from our domain, it is not our egold number, and in spite of the fact that we have a good runnig site(s) we are not a bunch of ###### giving away money. Guess my bank would not approve of it as well.
I read at forums that some people got tricked by the “Congratulations” email. Fortunately, I was saved by the trouble on displaying HTML message in my POP mail application. A three days frustrating trouble, but it saved me from a scam. What a luck! I might not notice it if my POP mail application didn’t get the trouble of showing HTML format.
But again, practicing my own tips about having a safe e-gold account … has also saved me from my own trouble.
Better be more careful next time.
PS: The REAL no-minimum.com itself is not a scam. During my participation in their PTC program, I have been paid directly to my e-gold account. So don’t misunderstand my article here. I was only showing you an example of how to recognize a scam.
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