Scam Warning: Free Shipping Problem

This email appeared in my inbox overnight. It’s a scam, of course, but sadly many people will be taken in by it.

Why is this a scam?

• First of all, I haven’t ordered anything from Walmart, ever.
• Next, the mail was sent from “8020salestraining.com,” not “walmart.com.”
• Third, notice the secondary text “Wallmart,” an obvious mis-spelling.
• Fourth, notice the lousy English: “you must fill this form,” “you will be paid your money back.”
• Lastly, if you happen to click the “this form” link, you are downloading a zip file called “WalmartForm_Richfield_84701.zip” – and if you unpack that, you get “WalmartForm_Richfield_84701.exe“

That last one is the biggest red flag of all: the first rule of safe computing is NEVER RUN ATTACHED EXE FILES. That’s a program, and it will either gather financial details and forward it to scammers, or install malware/adware/viruses/trojans on your system, or something else, or all of the above. Many people don’t enable the display of file extensions, so they would never know they’re opening a malicious program.

There are more scams out there than you can shake a stick at. Practice safe computing – never download or open attachments unless you are sure you know from whom they are coming. Be careful with your financial details. Never send banking or credit card information via email. Avoid sending money to anyone unknown via Western Union or Money Card. And never pay money to collect a prize, especially from a contest you have not entered.

Be careful out there.

The Old Wolf has spoken.