Is This A Legit Microsoft E-Mail?

Factual Questions
1

I found this in my bulk Yahoo e-mail entitled “Last Update” and further called June 2004 Cumulative Patch. I run XP and usually get Microsoft updates sent directly to my computer and appearing on the bottom toolbar.

Further this is the address which appears on the mail itself, which is complete with logo, download options and “contact us”: wolgbxqfxf-kkihbywg@confidence.net.

Has anyone else received this? According to my toolbar, there are no updates waiting for me to run/install. All the wording in the e-mail is correct and there are no misspellings like with the Citibank scam, but I deleted itl.

Thanks

Quasi

2

No, it’s not legit. It will probably direct you somewhere that may even look like an MS site, but it will undoubtedly put something you don’t want on your computer. Just run Windows Update, don’t pay attention to any emails from MS that say something about it not being available on the regular WU site. Just think, why on earth would they do that?

3

Forgot to tell y’all it had a 515.exe attachment at the bottom.

Thanks

Q

4

Microsoft never sends out security warnings unless you specifically went to their site and subscribed to them.

5

Um, you haven’t opened the attachment have you? Please don’t. Just delete the email and block the sender.

6

Damn! I guess those bastards have really gotten sophisticated, huh?

I have a very good firewall/virus protection that I got with my Comcast account, but all the same I’m glad I didn’t click on any of that crap.

Another weird thing happened Monday. Got an e-mal from “E-Bay” telling me they are investigating my account for fraudulent bidding. (Either me or someone else was using my account to place fraudulent bids). It asked me to click on a link, but I went to E-bay instead and found no bids with my name attached. That e-mail too seemed real, purporting to have come from “SafeHarbor”.

If I didn’t click on the link and verify my account information within 48 hours, they said, my EBay account would be closed.

Deleted that sumbitch too.

:smiley:

Q

7

I did exactly that, and I appreciate your and Chuck’s help.

Q

8

They have, but neither of the messages you mention is particularly sophisticated. All they have is a claim that they come from someone you do business with, and instructions to do something stupid. E-mail viri and scams of this sort have been around for ages. The appearance of official communications from a company is really easy to fake: If eBay can put images into an e-mail, then so can a scammer. I’m actually a bit surprised that the messages you got weren’t listed as coming from support@microsoft.com, or something of the sort: It’s really easy to fake the address an e-mail is supposedly coming from.

Rule of thumb: Whenever you get an unexpected e-mail telling you to do anything on your computer, it’s a virus or a scam.

9

Okay, Chronos. So you want me to beat my beloved with a stick whose diameter is no larger than my thumb, and then delete the suspect e-mail, right?

:smiley:

Just kidding! Thanks for appearing in my thread and it’s good to “see” you!

Quasi