Holyssa Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 As if WoW account ninjas weren't bad enough? Now a new scam has popped up related to Blizzard's patent on the name "Cataclysm". Click the red text for info. As for the scam itself? Found it on Worldofraids: http://www.worldofraids.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24260 There's a new scam doing the works and I thought I'd alert people about it - it's really official-looking and almost fooled me (thank god for the world's most ferocious anti-virus and noscript ^^)Here is a screencap of the email I received There are several things that really concerned me about this email: 1) The email address is almost entirely indistinguishable from that of blizzard's own. In fact, hotmail picked up on this saying "you are subscribed to this person's mailing list" or something. 2) The scammers have gone to the care of mocking up a fairly convincing logo for this "expansion". Only a gamer with a good knowledge of current blizz goings on would a) realise that cataclysm is a misty subject for blizz at the moment and b) that the art is reused from strathlome (I think...) 3) The wording in the email is near perfect. I haven't spent a long time reading it but it seems absolutely unforced and similar to Blizzard's expression. How you can tell it's a fake: 1) Random people who are not related to Blizzard do not get Alpha invites So don't think you're that lucky! 2) All of the links go to a site that is NOT BLIZZARD OR WOW RELATED. You can see this if you hover over the links. On going to the link, you are prompted to download a .rar file called "Cataclysm Updater". DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS FILE WHATEVER YOU DO, AND CERTAINLY DO NOT, NEVER, EVER EVER EVER BY JOVE, EXECUTE IT OR UNPACK IT. It is certainly a malignant piece of software, either a virus or a keylogger or something equally nasty. 3) The "Alpha" email links are in fact old beta email links. 4) There is no information concerning cataclysm, especially the content which this email alludes to (hero classes, maelstrom continent, etc). So PLEASE PLEASE everyone keep an eye out! If you get this email please DO NOT DO ANYTHING BUT DELETE IT. Alert Blizzard if you fear the safety of your account at all, they are lovely people and will be happy to help I'm sure (especially if you phone them up -great support there). Hope this helped you out, Postulio Even if you got an Authenticator, keep your eyes peeled. That's one clever looking scam to the naked eye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldonnis Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 1) The email address is almost entirely indistinguishable from that of blizzard's own. In fact, hotmail picked up on this saying "you are subscribed to this person's mailing list" or something.2) The scammers have gone to the care of mocking up a fairly convincing logo for this "expansion". Only a gamer with a good knowledge of current blizz goings on would a) realise that cataclysm is a misty subject for blizz at the moment and b) that the art is reused from strathlome (I think...) 3) The wording in the email is near perfect. I haven't spent a long time reading it but it seems absolutely unforced and similar to Blizzard's expression. Faking email headers is an old practice for hoaxes/scammers, and Blizzard almost makes it easier by maintaining their "noreply"-style bit bucket address. For the truly curious, you can look at the SMTP routing information in the full header in most email programs/sites to be sure. On the hoaxes I've seen, the originating server is almost always foreign and definitely not Blizzard. And yep, most of that artwork was either recoloured BC logo mockup graphics or Stratholme-sourced. 1) Random people who are not related to Blizzard do not get Alpha invites So don't think you're that lucky! QFT. Blizzard alpha tests have been exclusively "friends and family" for years now, and this practice won't change. Past alpha invitees are often included as well (even if their ties to Blizzard are dissolved), but it's no guarantee. 2) All of the links go to a site that is NOT BLIZZARD OR WOW RELATED. You can see this if you hover over the links. On going to the link, you are prompted to download a .rar file called "Cataclysm Updater". DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS FILE WHATEVER YOU DO, AND CERTAINLY DO NOT, NEVER, EVER EVER EVER BY JOVE, EXECUTE IT OR UNPACK IT. It is certainly a malignant piece of software, either a virus or a keylogger or something equally nasty. RAR? *laughs* 4) There is no information concerning cataclysm, especially the content which this email alludes to (hero classes, maelstrom continent, etc). Given how recent the trademark application (NOT patent) was, the possibility of an alpha this early is laughable...especially with how much of their resources are still dedicated to Wrath content. So PLEASE PLEASE everyone keep an eye out! If you get this email please DO NOT DO ANYTHING BUT DELETE IT. Alert Blizzard if you fear the safety of your account at all, they are lovely people and will be happy to help I'm sure (especially if you phone them up -great support there). Again, QFT. Report it to Blizzard if you get one of these, but don't be fooled by it. My usual strategy when receiving anything via email that's game related and unprompted: assume it's a scam/hoax by default. I've participated in several beta tests for Blizzard (and other companies/games) and every single time, I always knew I would be receiving the invites before I got them. Use your heads and practice safe computing (no, that doesn't mean put condoms on your fingers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthes Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 That doesn't mean put condoms on your fingers Damn it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenojin Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Haha yes i have gotten one of these in my spam mail today http://worldofwarcraftcataclysm.110mb.com/ They couldn't have made the website address seem like it was actually a little legit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoach Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 That doesn't mean put condoms on your fingers Damn it!! What if you habitually wear condoms on your fingers? We don't have to take them off, do we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldonnis Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 What if you habitually wear condoms on your fingers? We don't have to take them off, do we? In your case, Rhoach, it's a requirement that you keep them on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhoach Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 What if you habitually wear condoms on your fingers? We don't have to take them off, do we? In your case, Rhoach, it's a requirement that you keep them on lowel Happy Birthday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.