Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
mdcatdad
Enthusiast - Level 3

For the 2nd time in a week an e-mail got past Verizon's filters and into my Inbox. Both were phishing attempts.

The first time I called Verizon because I didn't know of an e-mail address to send it to and the person at the other end didn't sound very interested but indicated that Verizon knew about it.

Here's the text (I'll leave out the link, which begins with econtact dot verizon dot com:

Dear Verizon Internet Customer,

At Verizon, we continue our efforts to enhance your online experience as well as ensure ongoing security for our Internet customers.  As a result, Verizon Online has modified the way email is handled when sent or received through an email application other than MyVerizon. 

If you only use MyVerizon to access your email account, no action is required and you may disregard this email.  If you do, however, use other applications to access your Verizon email, such as Outlook Express®, you will need to modify your email settings to take advantage of enhanced security we now offer. 


In order to make these modifications, please visit ...://verizon.com/emailsettings for information about the  email settings you need to update.  Additional information may also be available by going to our online forum at ...://forums.verizon.com/. 


Thanks for being a valued Verizon Online customer and we encourage you to act now to ensure your email account has the proper settings on a going-forward basis.      

Sincerely,

Verizon Online

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
dslr595148
Community Leader
Community Leader

After looking at the info at

http://verizon.com/emailsettings

while you thought that was a phishing attempt, it was not.

Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
mdcatdad
Enthusiast - Level 3

You mean, it was a legitmate message from Verizon, even though it didn't address me by my username, real name, or

use any other authenticating information?

Well, I use Apple's Mail program, which doesn't have a preference field for some of the server ports, nor have I had any problems iwth sending or receiving e-mail. 

Guess I'd better call tech support since the instructions given at the link you provided are for other setups (e.g. Outlook).

Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
gilgal0415
Newbie

Are you sure?

I got the same email, three times today (now four), none of them to my real email address.  They were each addressed to a different gibberish address.

The other problem is that the email address to which the link actually goes is NOT http://verizon.com/emailsettings, as the original poster pointed out.  It's a very different address that begins with "econtact."  I've never seen Verizon use a URL like that and have no intention of clicking on it to find out where it actually goes.

Classic phish.

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
mdcatdad
Enthusiast - Level 3

I called Verizon and they said it was genuine but I didn't need to do anything if my e-mail was working OK, which is was (Apple Mail program).

I agree that it's been badly handled by Verizon

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
gilgal0415
Newbie

Thanks for the feedback, mdcatdad!  Why is verizon sending these notifications with nonsense email addresses and suspicious "unknown" references showing up in the header?  Two other people I've been in touch with in the last hour got the same thing, "To" lines that were gibberish that bore no resemblance to their email addresses.

If it's genuine, definitely badly handled.  And if email will continue to work without changing the settings, also misleading.

Thanks again.

/newbie who only signed up here to try to clear this up but may be back

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
somegirl
Champion - Level 3

Odds are that the email you received was sent to your vzid, which begins with vze- or res-. Every account has one, automatically assigned by Verizon on creation.

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
davelanger
Enthusiast - Level 3

It you are not sure if something is a phishing email or not, NEVER click on the link to go into your settings.

Just log into your account manually without clicking clicks, and udpate your settings to be safe.  That way you know you are not going to a phishing site.

Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
wrandyt
Newbie

i got the following today. The red flag was the reply was going to VERIZON HELP-DESK ADMIN <verizon.net @ usa.com>

this has got to be bogus.

From: VERIZON HELP-DESK ADMIN [mailto:web.offfice_3106@verizon.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 2:43 AM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: TECHNICAL ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION 2012

A DGTFX Virus has been detected in your verizon account. Your email account has to be upgraded to our new Secured DGTFX Anti-Virus 2012 version to prevent damages to our account login and your important files. you are to Fill the re-validated form below and send back to us within 48hour or your email account will be terminated to avoid spread of the virus.

User name:...
Email address:
Phone number :...
Password:..
Re-confirm:..
 
Director of verizon.net Technical Team.
Note that your password will be encrypted with 1024-bit RSA keys for your password safety.
 
All verizon.net User Should Reply Now !!
Thank you for your co-operation.
verizon.net Account Support Help-Desk
(Warning Code :ID67565vrz)

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Re: Phishing attempts to steal Verizon users' e-mail passwords
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Yep. E-mail is bogus. Spam/Delete it.

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