Comments on: Evil Phish

By: joeo

joeo — Wed, 17 May 2006 23:51:50 +0000

I sent an important email to someone last night and 5 minutes later I got an email that some destination had rejected my email. I was in a panic so I clicked on a txt file. Luckily, my computer asked me whether I really wanted to do this. Bastards.

By: Timothy Burke

Timothy Burke — Wed, 17 May 2006 18:44:19 +0000

Yeah, child-porn themed ones are way more powerful, for sure. I got a child porn spam about six years ago and it was very unnerving. Couple that with a phish like you describe and you’ve got a potent bit of nastiness.

By: sharon

sharon — Wed, 17 May 2006 18:23:59 +0000

Nope, the most evil phishing email I’ve ever seen is still one from a year or two ago that went along the lines of: “The gorgeous child porn you ordered is ready and waiting for you! Your credit card has been charged with the amount XX. If you wish to cancel this order click here…” I thought it was sickeningly brilliant as a way to get people to panic and hand over their credit card details.

Oh, and I think the email purporting to be from an abused wife in Saudi Arabia who needed my help to escape her evil murderous etc husband is the best ‘Nigerian’ spam I’ve ever had. It just tapped into absolutely every western stereotype of Arab/Muslim cruelty to women. (Even the usual illiteracy didn’t matter, since she claimed to have had very little education.) Clever.

By: Timothy Burke

Timothy Burke — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:35:54 +0000

That would be evil indeed.

Well, actually, I guess it depends on what it was overwriting.

By: Endie

Endie — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:33:20 +0000

Surely Evil Phishing should involve an email saying “you’ve received an off-the-wall cover version of an early Frank Zappa number from your hippy uncle”, and then have the attachment brutally overwrite all your data with jazz-fusion led zep crossover mp3s?