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Do I really care about PST files?

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Do I really care about PST files? Didn’t Exchange stop supporting them years ago?

You only care about PST files if you have users that need to, or want to, access them.

Yes, Exchange 2010 introduced the Archive Mailbox and eliminated PST files, but you need to ingest PST files into that archive mailbox if users want to access them. And getting to them from Office is nearly impossible – not only do they need to be moved off of users’ desktops, they need to be migrated to the Microsoft cloud, which can be a lengthy process.

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The Big Business of Spam: Online Dating Requests Through Email – Not So Fast

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Meeting people online has never been easier, unfortunately for some people, falling for that perfect connection may not be the only thing they are falling for these days. Online dating scams are quickly becoming a likely possibility due to the giant audience attracted to online dating sites. It’s no secret that scammers target large audiences, and according to an article published on Match.com, there are currently over 40 million people trying to meet that special someone online. So, how can users avoid falling victim to an online dating scam without dumping the scene all together?

One way is to remain aware that any email you receive regardless of the topic – could be a scam in disguise. For example, through Barracuda Central, the Barracuda Labs team recently flagged and dissected a series of factious emails from scammers attempting to impersonate a missed connection from a dating site. These scams are banking on the potential that the recipient has an online dating account in order to bait them into replying to an offsite message. This particular email scam suggests that the recipient email them directly so they can get to know each other, which is simply a tactic used in order to bypass spam filters. Here is one of the messages we came across:

dating1

As you can see, this particular message is written poorly which should always raise a red flag, and if the recipient takes action and replies, the scammer's sob story quickly follows in hopes to earn the trust of the victim. Eventually these communications will lead to a request for the victim to wire money, which will be withdrawn from their bank account immediately and into an offshore account – where a refund is far from likely. Not only will your wallet be empty, your heart may be broken along with it, and you’ll be well on your way to a number one hit on the county music charts.

Not your idea of a good time? Fortunately, it might actually be easier to avoid these types of scams than to fall for one if you know how to stay safe. Based on the messages we’ve seen come through, scams similar to this one seem to be targeting men over 18, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook if you don’t fit that demographic. To keep yourself out of harm’s way when it comes to online dating and related email scams, take the following precautions:

  • Don’t reply to emails from a “missed connection” or to someone claiming to want to get to know you better through email – they most likely aren’t your soul mate.
  • When participating in online dating, keep your initial communications with connections through the dating site. You signed up to meet people – let them help you do that.
  • If you’re suspicious of any email, regardless of topic – don’t open it, reply to it, or click on any links associated. Better safe than sorry.

Barracuda Labs has covered quite a few topics related to how scammers are profiting from spam related tactics, to read more in our Big Business of Spam series, check out the following links:

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/09/adulterers-beware-scammers-may-be-targeting-you/

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/07/the-big-business-of-spam-stay-clear-of-these-too-hot-to-miss-sale-opportunities-from-your-facebook-friends/

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/06/the-big-business-of-spam-what-caitlyn-jenner-uses-to-prevent-wrinkles-and-stop-the-aging-process/

The Big Business of Spam: Stay clear of these “too-hot-to-miss” sale opportunities from your Facebook Friends

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We’ve previously warned about deals that are too good to be true (https://barracudalabs.com/2015/05/the-big-business-of-spam-dr-ozs-brand-new-trick-to-shed-27-pounds-in-just-one-month/) – and with summer in full swing, the Barracuda Labs team has seen more and more false domains like (rb-to.com, raybanglassesofhot.com and summer-raybans.com) popping up in feeds and social media timelines. Our Labs team ran a background check on the domains and many of them appear to be registered in China, including the domain listed above.

While browsing your Facebook or Twitter timelines, you may have come across “sponsored ads” that seem too good to be true. Most can be spotted immediately and swiftly ignored; however, you may have been tagged in a post or received a message on your personal timeline posted by a friend, directing you to a killer sale. See figure 1 for an example.

raybanblog1

Figure 1.

The example above shows an ad for Ray Ban, a popular sunglass retailer whose classic sunglasses range from $155 to $200, that looks as though it was shared by a regular user or even a friend on Facebook. The ad targets unsuspecting consumers looking to score the name brand sunglasses for up to 80% off.

raybanblog2

Figure 2.

The idea here, like any scam, is to entice unknowing consumers to jump on the hot deals and “buy” the Ray Ban’s at such low prices. Once the links are clicked on, the consumer is redirected to what looks like a legitimate discount website that is offering deals with up to 80% savings on multiple styles, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 for examples.

raybanblog3

Figure 3.

The phisher hopes that the deal is too good for the consumer to pass up and engages in purchasing the product. Here, the phisher is hoping the consumer will enter their personal data like first and last name, emails address, personal home address and credit card information, to then flip and sell to third parties.

It is always smart to use best practices when shopping online. Here are a few tips:

  • Do a bit of research and go directly to the name brand website to see what offers are on the official website
  • Look for plain websites as a warning, as they are quickly put together with minimal tabs and functionality
  • Look for poor grammar and misspellings; because these fake sites are so quickly put together, often times spell checking isn’t their highest priority

Barracuda Labs encourages – if you do get tagged in an ad like this or find it posted to your wall – immediately untag yourself and delete it from your wall so you can avoid letting your friends or family members fall victim to the scam as well.

For more resources on the Big Business of Spam, you can see previous posts here:

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/06/the-big-business-of-spam-what-caitlyn-jenner-uses-to-prevent-wrinkles-and-stop-the-aging-process/

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/05/the-big-business-of-spam-dr-ozs-brand-new-trick-to-shed-27-pounds-in-just-one-month/

https://barracudalabs.com/2015/05/the-big-business-of-spam-scammers-once-again-looking-to-capitalize-on-a-tragic-natural-disaster/