Friday, October 28, 2011

Spammers Pretend to Be Your Friend in the Digital Age

Spam Targeting Cox Communications CustomersCustomers of Cox Communications should beware of phishing emails that spammers are sending out that claim Cox is cleaning out unused accounts and that you will need to provide your account information in order to ensure your account is not accidentally removed.

The phishing email targeting Cox Communication customers reads:
From: COX© [cox.accountupdate(at)live.com]
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Account Update!!

Dear COX© Users,

Cox is working hard to change and improve the way we serve you across all aspects of our services. We have recently relaunched and improved many of our costumer experiences, including Cox.com. As we continue to improve Cox for you, some of the improvements are updating the ways that we interact with you and your information. As a result, we want to update you on our Terms of Service (TOS), which contains the agreements between you andCox.

In addition, We are deleting all unused Cox or Nonfunctional account to create more space for new accounts.To prevent your account from closing or deactivated you will have to update it below so that we will know that it's a present used account. To do this, You have to click on your reply button to reply back to this message and then you fill the information below.

Full Name:   ...............
User name:   ................
Password:    ...............
Date Of Birth:  ...............
Occupation:  ...............
State Of Residence:............

After receiving the information requested you will be able to continue using your Account.

Sincerely,
COX© Member Services.

As you can tell, the primary focus of this fake email is to steal your Cox Communications user information. Like most companies, Cox has stated time and time again that they will never ask that you verify account information via email.

What should you do if you receive this Cox Communications phishing email?


If you’re a Cox customer and you’ve received this message in your inbox, it’s advised that you take one (or both) of the following actions:

  1. Report the fake Cox email by forwarding it to Cox Communications. If the email was sent from Cox ISP or IP, it should be forwarded as an attachment to abuse@cox.net. If it didn’t come from another Cox user, then forward it to spamreport@cox.net. (Make sure you include the full email headers!)

  2. Delete the email from your inbox and the corresponding trash folder. Make sure you delete it completely to avoid anyone else from potentially reading it and divulging your account information by mistake.


Be sure to follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet or “Like” us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest phishing email scams.

 

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