I received an odd email today with the heading of Enterra from someone I don't believe I've ever heard of. It was sent to the email address I've listed here in my Profile. I won't give the full name (in the unlikely event that this is legit), but the email was supposedly from Davud T******. The message is below...
quote
Hey dude. You still alive. I need to find someone to help me with my Enterra Viper. Any ideas on who I could trust. I still want to do a North Star build. Give a holler if you can. 208*******
With some quick googling, I was able to determine there indeed was someone who posted online years ago about their Enterra, but their name was David T******... not Davud.
I never actually open emails I receive from unknown sources. I viewed the raw message of this email in a separate window. I'm just curious if anyone else here might've received this same email.
Patrick, I've received similar emails. Not for help with an Enterra, but with other stock Fieros being named. After responding to them, I've never gotten a reply. Being part of the Georgia Fiero Club, I never gave it any thought. They were usually looking for mechanics or someone to paint their car, etc.
With how specifically that is related to you I wouldn't think it was spam. Could be just weird tough
"Spam is most often considered to be electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited email. However, if a long-lost brother finds your email address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it is unsolicited."
If you allow Email link in post here then you Email address is view-able by every one and thing on the planet by viewing print page here or Google. IOW Email of PFF in not secret to anyone when you allow Email on Profile page.
This "problem" is known and cover in past threads. Use Search.
Many "random" emails are bots using PFF and other data to make spam seem to look "real" but is to harvest active Emails and/or worse to get you to open malware stuffed attachments pictures etc. Because many will programs open HTML emails you can get attack just opening them via Java Script etc.
Note: All Web served pictures are a beacon to whatever. If you view them then they know they have a live address. Some Email client can turn off DL any web served data for this reason but some You have to set this on. IOW Can do this but not a default setting. IF you set the feature on then you still need to monitor settings... Hu? Example Comcast recently updated their Web client and turn off this function and have to manually turn it on.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I even get emails from myself or friends that didnt send it. It almost always goes to my junk box. I never open an email from someone I dont know or know the subject box. I sometimes even call a friend to see if they did send an email before I open it.
A post about this Enterra being for sale showed up on Facebook the other day. The poster didn't have the sellers contact information. If it's for sale I'm interested but it could be part of a scam. There's a lot of that centered around kit car's and specialty car's all the time.
That doesn't look like spam to me. Just someone who found you and asked you for help.
If you were to ask someone for a favor in an unsolicited email, wouldn't you address them by their name (when their name is obvious)... or would you still address them "Hey dude"?
And do you then follow that up by asking if they're still alive?
quote
Hey dude. You still alive.
And to top it off... do you spell you own name wrong? Davud
I've gotten lots of emails over the years from people asking for Fiero advice... but this particular email is a little different. Keep in mind there's a lot more (code/gobbledygook) to this email that can't be accessed/seen/read unless the email is opened. I have no intention of doing so...
quote
Originally posted by theogre:
Many "random" emails are bots using PFF and other data to make spam seem to look "real" but is to harvest active Emails and/or worse to get you to open malware stuffed attachments pictures etc.
Because many will programs open HTML emails you can get attack just opening them via Java Script etc.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-02-2017).]
But yeah, most people aren't "professional" in contacting random people. I would say "hey dude" and "you still alive?" to someone, but only someone I knew and haven't talked to in a while. Generally I wouldn't randomly e-mail people though. Heck, I don't even really e-mail the people I do like.
I've gotten lots of emails over the years from people asking for Fiero advice... but this particular email is a little different.
Turns out my gut feeling on this email was probably correct. I did a search of the last name of this supposed person, Davud ******* in my Yahoo email account, and found a notice that I had been sent back on August 18, 2011 from the online forum of the local Fiero club. (Yes, I used the same email address there as here.) The notice was to inform me that *******168 (yes, the same name) had posted in a build thread. And what was *******168 posting about in this Fiero build thread? *******168 was selling NFL jerseys.
So I don't know exactly how this nonsense works... but it seems that a name is selected that is somehow associated to interests of the targeted person/group, and then variations of this name crop up as the supposed source of the posts/emails. Anyway, it's all just so much crapola.
I have occasionally received spam email ads with references to stuff on PFF. I just chuckle and toss 'em into the spam filter.
Oh sure, obvious SPAM that's just flogging some service or product is nothing more than a nuisance and can just be ignored/tossed. I don't feel threatened by all the fake Viagra SPAM.
However, I'm a little more concerned if/when emails arrive that are disguised to look like they've been sent from a long-lost Fiero pal, and there's possibly something a lot more insidious lurking inside than simply an ad.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-04-2017).]