Phishing

[Dahaus07]

Here is a copy of an email I received 9/25/09. How bogus is this?

From: Verizon Central Alert {edited for privacy}

Date: September 25, 2009 5:08:03 PM PDT

To: undisclosed recipients: ;

Subject: Verizon Central WARNING!

Reply-To: {edited for privacy} 

Verizon Central

Dear Valued Member,

Due to the congestion in our Verizon servers,there would be removal =20

of all unused Verizon Accounts.You will have to confirm if your E-=20

mail is still active by filling out your login info below after =20

clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within =20

24 hours for security reasons.=09

      Username:...........................

      Password:.............................

      Date of Birth:.......................

     Country :...........................................

After updating your account information,your account will not be =20

interrupted and will continue to work as normal.Thanks for your =20

attention to this request.. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Warning!!!  Account owner that refuses to update his or her account =20

before two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her =20

account permanently.

Thank you for allowing us to serve you.

Sincerely,

Verizon

[ElizabethS]

Hello Dahaus07

Any company with whom you do business, will always address you by name. Another clue, is the very poor grammar for a business letter. And lastly, the thread of losing your service is also a tip-off.

Here is a link to a Verizon page that gives security and other alerts or announcments. It wil confirm for you that Verizon would never ask for this type of information through an email.

ElizabethS

[somegirl]

These messages always make me laugh. I know that there are a lot of people that do fall for these scams though. Always remember, most big companies will NEVER ask for your password. Anyone who actually needs it, already has access to it. =P

Thanks for the smile, Dahaus07!