First one: E-mail from friend

This was sent from my friend's real e-mail, and the "sent" showed my entire "group" that I hang out with back home. I had 0 reason to suspect this one, as we shared links this way when I didn't have a Facebook. I have one again now, but I still didn't expect it. All it was, was a link, no description, which is EXACTLY how we share links.

It just sent me to a site about diet pills. I got off the site, ran a scan, and was clean.

Second one: Wellgates Scholar Program

E-mail:

Dear Brennan [omitted but correct middle and last name],

You are invited to apply for a membership from the Wellgates Scholar Program based on a nomination we have received. This is a global initiative to encourage and recognize academic excellence, leadership, and entrepreneurship among university students.

This invitation is extended only to currently enrolled university students who can demonstrate academic excellence, entrepreneurship and leadership. Thanks to the program sponsors and supporters, student membership is completely free of charge.

Wellgates administers 9 Student of the Year Awards and 10 scholarships annually. We also provide free career services to members. We are now accepting applications for 2012. Please visit our website at http://www.wellgatessch2012.org/ to find out more about this prestigious membership.

Application deadline: March 31, 2012

Special Notice:
Nomination: Through our website, you may nominate up to 3 peer students who you think would qualify for this program if you are a full member.
Committee Recruitment: We are recruiting campus representatives to liaise with students and student organizations in your university. It's a great opportunity to get involved. Please visit our website for details.


Sincerely,
Linda Miller
Membership Advisor
Wellgates Scholar Program

Now, I fell for this mostly because my advisor at school told me he was going to put a recommendation down for me to earn another scholarship. I figured this was it, so I didn't really check anything too rigorously. Their site is fully functional, with correct spelling, and doesn't ask for anything any other scholarship application would ask.

The only reason I found out it was fraudulent is by looking online. Nobody seems to know for sure, but there are a lot of good points. Hey, I fell for it, so I'm obviously not a good judge. I think the point was just to get some information to sell to someone. They really don't have much information, but still...

So yeah, I fell for them... oh well! These guys are getting smarter. Neither is that bad, though I'm a little worried about that Wellgates thing. Anyways, watch out for these if you get them!

Normally, phishing e-mails are nothing to be too concerned about. They send them out there in hopes that someone will click on it. When you do, usually they use some of the more common garbage that only affects Windows XP / 32-bit installs with a JavaScript enabled Trojan-Dropper that dumps a keylogger or some nonsense. Some of these have even gotten quite good when it comes to tailoring the e-mail to the individual, like when they get a list of names and e-mail addresses in a database.

HOWEVER... when you start getting phishing e-mails that are uniquely tailored to you, as in... they include your immediate group of friends, and some other things... that's called a "spear phishing" attack. These are exceptionally dangerous because it means that you, or your "group" are being specifically targetted. It could be as innocent as someone in your circle of friends had their own computer compromised, and what the trojan on their machine might do is go through e-mails and collect e-mail "circles"... but if that's not the case, there may be something that has their interest.


Todd

www.wellgates.org

Check again, it may be legit. its not asking for money.

The Wellgates Scholar Program
Want to develop your leadership and entrepreneurship skills? Want to network with high achievers? Wellgates is for you.
The Wellgates Scholar Program is a new global initiative to encourage and recognize academic excellence, leadership, and entrepreneurship among university students. Every year we offer scholarships to the highest caliber students who will benefit from, and contribute to, the university education in any discipline. We are keen to recognize and reward high levels of excellence through not only scholarships, but our annual Student of the Year Awards as well. We sponsor and co-organize local events that promote leadership and entrepreneurship. We also provide members with networking opportunities and career development services.

The student membership is a prestigious recognition which is exclusive to those who can demonstrate academic achievement, exceptional talents in leadership, or entrepreneurship.


Eligibility

] Currently enrolled university students, and
] GPA 3.0 or above for students attending GPA-based universities, or
] Second Class Honours for students attending honours-based universities, or
] able to demonstrate leadership or entrepreneurship in one or more areas
Benefits
Student membership in the program comes with many opportunities and benefits. To name a few:

1. Recognition
Be entitled to state, "Student Member of the Wellgates Scholar Program" on resume.
2. Scholarships
Be eligible to apply for the 10 annual Wellgates scholarships.
3. Career Service
Access to the Wellgates job board.
4. Student of the Year Nomination
Be eligible to be nominated for, and to vote for, the Student of the Year awards.
5. Local Events
Attend local Wellgates events on campuses.


How to Join
Membership is completely free. Each application will be carefully reviewed to ensure that all members in the program have fulfilled the membership requirements. To apply, please click here.

About the Wellgates Scholar Program
Wellgates Scholar is a UK-based global social enterprise project founded in 2011 by businessmen who want to contribute back to society by supporting the younger generation. Wellgates Scholar Program opens pathways to leadership for high-achieving students from diverse backgrounds and equips them with the recognition, skills, knowledge, networks, confidence, and power to transform their communities and the world for the better. The aim is to create a network of talented young leaders who can take up future leadership positions in the society.

We focus on the following three main areas:

- academic excellence
- entrepreneurship
- leadership

Contact Information
General enquiries: info@wellgates.org

Membership Application: membership@wellgates.org

Event Sponsorship Application: sponsorship@wellgates.org

Members’ Service Support: support@wellgates.org


Directly from their website.

Snopes has NO INFO on it.

[This message has been edited by htexans1 (edited 04-03-2012).]

Looks like you missed the deadline anyway...

No I hit the deadline. I was accepted. However, I just... well, I have found many online that had the exact same e-mail as I did, and it appears as if I'm the only one who had reason to believe they were actually nominated into it. Therefore, I'm going to just assume it was phishing. I don't care either way. It didn't get that much info.

The "spear phishing" one was definitely a new one for me. However, again, nothing happened to my computer that I can see so I'll just let it go.

A whois search on the url should give you the contact info in which you could probably verify (address, google earth street view, etc) - or even a phone number you could call an see how they answer.