I’m sorry for the clunky title, but this nasty business is hard to name. The Outlook Reappearing-Scam-Email Hack is really troublesome, and only seems to affect Microsoft-based email addresses (often ending in Outlook/Live/Hotmail.com). And that’s because the hackers are using some unique Microsoft weaknesses with this hijack. I can’t fully explain their techniques yet, but … Read more
The scammers have some good timing. Many Costco members are seeing their special Visa rebate notices come in this month. So it makes sense that this Costco Membership Phishing circulate at the same time: To be clear: the pictured email is a fake, and not to be trusted. Even though it says “Trusted Sender”, this … Read more
For most situations, you access your email simply by logging in, on a website or in your email client, by typing in the address and its password. But in some rare cases, that won’t work. You type your email address correctly, and you are confident of your password, but meet with no success. Why is … Read more
A sneaky way of getting people to click on spam is to send a note that claims “your email couldn’t be delivered.” Let me show you some examples of the subtle Undeliverable Phishing that I’m seeing these days: As spam goes, these are pretty convincing. The sender addresses usually look legit, and the undeliverable-verbiage is … Read more
If you use a Yahoo or AOL email address, then you probably see a lot of marketing offers from them. Pop-ups, emails and other offers abound. And this also goes for other email addresses that have found their new home with the Yahoo/AOL family. You should know how to get to the Yahoo & AOL … Read more
A customer recently shared this targeted phishing attempt with me, and I want to walk you through it. As phishing goes, it’s a bit more sophisticated than usual. Check out the details so you’ll be ready to sidestep this if it comes to your inbox. More Tailored than Other Scams I mention “targeted” because the … Read more
It’s said that here’s no such thing as a free lunch. So, of course, the same logic applies to all those spammy emails you get. The ones claiming you won a lottery. Earned a free gift card. Awarded an iPhone. None of these offers is legitimate, even though their logos and senders look real. But … Read more
No, you didn’t buy a gun. A firearm is not being shipped to you. If you received the email below, please take a moment to realize that it is just The Gun Purchase Scam. As scams go, this is another variant of the Thank You for Your Purchase Scam. That means that there is no … Read more
In 2025, Microsoft is pushing their “new” Outlook app on their PCs. It’s not going so well. The new Outlook for Windows app doesn’t work well with all email accounts, lacks critical features and shows built-in ads. Adoption rates are low. Users of the “classic” Outlook email client (born in 1997!) usually remain loyal and … Read more
We all have to deal with a certain amount of spam. But if you notice a sudden and major uptick in the spam coming to your inbox, pay attention! This could be a spam bomb. This is a smokescreen tactic used by cybercriminals to hide what they’re doing… The strategy is this: A bad guy … Read more