Email scraping

Nik

Nik

I probably broke it
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No it's not a disease or some sort of Tide pod consumption technique.

I've been notified by a member that they've gotten some spam with mention of CCF in it.

As a word of caution, please be aware that whatever info you post in public threads/posts and public profile posts can potentially be harvested by spammers. So if you post your email addy or your phone etc. we cannot protect it as it is public and viewable by ALL (members and non-members). We do use some script bot protection mechanisms but they are far from guaranteed to work 100% of the time. You may share your email and personal details via Private Conversation (PM) which is a private section of CCF hidden behind some authentication and authorization mechanisms. Of course you can put your email anywhere you want but be aware that you may get more spam.

This is becoming a little more apparent recently as the site itself is growing in popularity and we're getting some more unwanted spammer attention.
 
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@Nik
... the issue is not too specific ... just wondering a couple few things ... if known
#1. Has this member disclosed whether they posted an email address
either in messages or by photo attachment in these forums?
#2. Was the spam asking for them to click on a link and/or in regard to money of sort?
... I have seen in the past where members have protected one another whenever
something discretionary is posted (like in a address on a receipt, etc) ... we have a
rather tuned bunch that do watch for it ... I know of one instance on a photo of a
part quotation that was showing just a little too much ...
Thank you

I have had to post my email address for cruises (like Mountain Cruise).
I also provided my email for MITM logistics.
I know spam is out there and I am wary of whenever
links and money is mentioned and when no name of the sender is familiar

I have just done a simple search of @ here an a few e's pop up ... including mine
so it is rather simple
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SN-III said:
@Nik
... the issue is not too specific ... just wondering a couple few things ... if known
#1. Has this member disclosed whether they posted an email address
either in messages or by photo attachment in these forums?
#2. Was the spam asking for them to click on a link and/or in regard to money of sort?
... I have seen in the past where members have protected one another whenever
something discretionary is posted (like in a address on a receipt, etc) ... we have a
rather tuned bunch that do watch for it ... I know of one instance on a photo of a
part quotation that was showing just a little too much ...
Thank you

I have had to post see my email address posted for cruises (like Mountain Cruise).
I also provided my email for MITM. I know its out there and I am wary of whenever
links and money is mentioned and when no name of the sender is familiar
Click to expand...


It’s easy

Treat everything as spam that is unsolicited or not from someone you know. Directly to the trash without even opening it.
Chances are the lottery winners that are determined to share with me and all the poor African hospitalized heirs to millions are not actually real. 😂

-Good secure password
-2 step authorization
-Never click on a link.
 
SN-III said:
@Nik
... the issue is not too specific ... just wondering a couple few things ... if known
#1. Has this member disclosed whether they posted an email address
either in messages or by photo attachment in these forums?
#2. Was the spam asking for them to click on a link and/or in regard to money of sort?
... I have seen in the past where members have protected one another whenever
something discretionary is posted (like in a address on a receipt, etc) ... we have a
rather tuned bunch that do watch for it ... I know of one instance on a photo of a
part quotation that was showing just a little too much ...
Thank you

I have had to post see my email address posted for cruises (like Mountain Cruise).
I also provided my email for MITM. I know its out there and I am wary of whenever
links and money is mentioned and when no name of the sender is familiar
Click to expand...

This particular instance was one of those SEO company spam messages (I get a million a day so not too worrisome). Member's email was in an old profile post (which is still indexed and searchable). It wasn't a clickbait/ransonware scam. As @ddgermann mentions treat everything with extreme prejudice and suspicion. Our CCF originated emails are digitally signed to ensure good deliverability (you can do a Show Original in most email clients to see the email headers which will tell you the actual origin of the email and whether it passed or failed various integrity checks) but that doesn't preclude the possibility that some nefarious actor can spoof your email client into thinking an email has come from CCF (it's a lot harder to spoof this now but still possible) or indeed that we could be compromised in the future (though of course we make every effort to the contrary). Bottom line is use caution.

Also don't watch too many Mr Robot episodes or you'll never see the internet again :)
 
ddgermann said:
It’s easy

Treat everything as spam that is unsolicited or not from someone you know. Directly to the trash without even opening it.
Chances are the lottery winners that are determined to share with me and all the poor African hospitalized heirs to millions are not actually real. 😂

-Good secure password
-2 step authorization
-Never click on a link.
Click to expand...

2FA has saved me on more occasions that I will admit to. Your email addy (that you use to register everywhere) is super important. Most email providers will offer some form of 2FA, please use it. :)
 
SN-III said:
Yup all good for me ... just would like to be wary of trend/reason/method where it is known to exist
(like with Shaw)(like with Telus)(like with Banks)(like with every Credit Card)etc etc etc
Click to expand...

Speaking of trends. It's even worse with bot traffic that accounts for over 50%.


1. Spam accounts for 45% of all emails sent.
5a725a463b52880001265e8b_img1.png

That’s right, almost half of all email content is spam! Only 55% of emails contain legitimate content, while the rest falls into the spam category.

Clearly, our spam filters are working harder than ever – but how many spam emails is that in total?

(SpamLaws.com)

2. About 14.5 billion spam emails are sent every single day.
That 45% equates to 14.5 billion spam messages that are sent globally each day.

It certainly seems modern spammers have a lot to say. So, what are the actual contents of those 14.5 billion daily spam emails?

(SpamLaws.com)

3. 36% of all spam is some form of advertising.
The most common type of spam is related to advertising. This includes promotional sales content that the recipient did not explicit opt-in to receive.

The second most prevalent type of spam is adult-related content, which accounts for 31.7% of all spam. Messages about financial matters rank third, making up about 26.5% of email spam.

(SpamLaws.com)

4. Spammers receive 1 reply for every 12,500,000 emails sent.
How effective is spam at garnering clicks?

For every 12.5 million spam emails sent out, only one person responds. That might not sound like much – until you consider that over 14 billion spam messages are sent on a daily basis.

(TechRadar)

5. Spam earns senders around $7,000 per day.
With so few people clicking, what’s the motivation behind email spam campaigns? Well, research has found that spammers don’t need a ton of clicks to maintain a rather profitable business model.

Even with only one response per 12.5 million messages sent, spammers earn around $3.5 million from spam email over the course of one year.

(Groupmail)

The Cost of Email Spam
6. Spam costs businesses a whopping $20.5 billion every year.
5a725a701eab6300015f870b_img2.png

Detailed research by the Radicati Research Group Inc. suggests that the cost of spam is no small change. Due to lost productivity and technical expenses, email spam cost businesses $20.5 billion annually in 2012 – which was even more than spam gangs earned from sending it.

According to Nucleus Research, these cost breaks down to around $1934 per employee.

7. The cost of spam could grow to $257 billion annually.
Even worse news for businesses – the cost of spam is likely to continue rising. Based on the rate that spam campaigns are spreading, dataindicates that the overall cost to businesses will grow to $257 billion annually within a few years.

Email Spam Statistics Around the World
8. The United States ranks first among the worst countries for spam.
Spam is certainly not a localized issue, but certain countries have it worse than others. In terms of live, ongoing spam issues, recipients in the U.S. have more to worry about than anyone.

Here’s a ranked list of which countries have the most live spam issues ongoing:

  • United States
  • China
  • Russian Federation
  • Ukraine
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
  • India
  • Hong Kong
  • Turkey
  • Brazil
(Spamhaus)

9. There are 3402 live spam issues in the US.
Though the exact number is in constant flux, there were 3402 live spam issues in the United States as of January 18, 2018, according to the SBL database.

10. The United States is home to 7 of the world’s top 10 spammers.
Not only is the U.S. the most spam-enabling country in the world, it’s also home to seven of the ten worst spammers in the world

11. 80% of all spam in North America and Europe is sent by the same 100 spam gangs.
The 100 most active spam operations comprise of around 200-300 individuals who are responsible for the bulk of all spam emails sent around the world. Spamhaus’ Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) documents the names, aliases, and other details of the operations run by these so-called “spam gangs.”
What Businesses Need to Know About Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are a type of email spam designed to steal someone’s login credentials and, unfortunately, they’re still more prevalent than you might think.
12. 3 out of 4 companies fell victim to phishing scams in 2016
5a725aaa1eab6300015f870d_img4_new.png

Despite growing awareness that spam is a serious, costly issue for businesses, 76% of companies reported falling victim to phishing scams in 2016. As Symantec reports, these rates are only increasing with time – so it’s crucial that businesses be vigilant in protecting themselves against malware, spam, and known phishing lures.
(Wombat Security Technologies)
13. Apple IDs are the most popular target of phishing emails.
According to Proofpoint’s 2017 Human Factor Report, a quarter of all phishing scams target Apple IDs. Other popular targets include credentials for Microsoft Outlook and Google Drive.
Here’s what the top 10 phishing lures of 2016 were according to the report:
  • Apple Account – 25%
  • Microsoft OWA – 17%
  • Google Drive – 12.9%
  • USAA – 12.4%
  • Paypal – 10.6%
  • Adobe Account – 5.8%
  • Dropbox – 4.8%
  • Blackboard – 4.7%
  • LinkedIn – 4.5%
  • CapitalOne – 2.2%
14. The most effective phishing scams target Dropbox credentials.
Even though Apple IDs are the more popular target, scammers tend to get the most results by going after Dropbox users.
Proofpoint looked at the click rate for large-scale scam campaigns with over 20,000 emails and found that those targeting Dropbox had a click rate of 13.6%, while those targeting Apple IDs only had a click rate of 1.2%.
15. Fake invoices are used in 26% of phishing scams.
5a725ac43b52880001265e93_img5.png

According to Symantec’s 2017 email spam statistics, fake invoices are the most popular tactic for phishing scams. Just over one out of every four malware spam campaigns in 2016 used fake invoices to trick victim’s into clicking – which suggests businesses are particularly vulnerable targets.
The next most common tactics are disguising malware as attached document (13%) and scans (12%).
Mail delivery failure messages account for another 10% of phishing scams, while the final percentage breaks down like so:
  • Order – 9%
  • Payment – 7%
  • Fax – 6%
  • Bill – 6%
  • Emailing – 6%
  • Doc – 5%
(Symantec’s 2017 ISTR)



CREDIT TO PROPELLER for putting together the article.
 
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