Spam from Institute of Project Management America (instituteofprojectmanagementamerica.org)

I wrote about the so-called Institute of Project Management America last month along with their principals Anthony Christopher Jones (aka Tony Jones) and Patchree Patchchrint (aka Patty Jones), who have been running what I personally consider to be fake seminars for the best part of a decade. Previous versions of this same outfit were called The Grant Institute and the North American Program Planning and Policy Academy [NAPPPA] (just Google 'em).

This spam is advertising a course in Seattle. In my opinion I would give this a very wide berth indeed.

From:     Institute of Project Management America
Date:     12 July 2014 10:48
Subject:     Project Management Masters Certification Program (August 5 - 8, 2014: Seattle, WA)

The Project Management Masters Certification Program will be offered August 5-8, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. Project management professionals, business and technology professionals, students, and educators are invited to register online at the Institute of Project Management America website.

August 5-8, 2014
Seattle Public Library
Seattle, Washington 

The PMMC is designed for those seeking professional project management certification. It serves as both a thorough professional education and recognized certification. Those seeking additional credentials such as the PMP®/PgMP®, PMI-SP®, and PMI-RMP® will benefit from this dynamic and interactive work session, while those currently holding credentials will find the certification to be an enhancement as well as the most up to date advanced professional development.  

Project Management Masters Certification program provides 36 hours of project management education, meeting education requirements for both PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) ® and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications. Additionally, the Master Certification provides 36 Professional Development Units (PDUs) for current holders of PMP®/PgMP®, PMI-SP®, and PMI-RMP® credentials.

The program meets the education requirement for all professional designations through the Project Management Institute and other professional agencies. Additionally, the program awards 3.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) upon request. 

Program Description

Our certificate program teaches technical and business professionals how to master the critical skills of project management techniques as part of their technical career development.

The skills developed in the Project Management Masters Certification program apply to large and small projects, product design and development efforts, construction projects, IT projects, software development, and any project with critical performance, time, and budget targets.  

Our approach to project management education offers proven, results-focused learning.

Courses are developed and facilitated by professional subject experts with extensive industrial experience. Course emphasis is on providing practical skills and tools supported by relevant case examples.

Tuition

Tuition for the four-day Project Management Masters Certification program is $995.00

Program Schedule and Content

1. Project Initiation, Costing, and Selection, Day 1

2. Project Organization and Leadership, Day 2 

3. Detailed Project Planning, Day 2 and 3 

4. Project Monitoring and Control, Day 3 and 4 

5. Project Risk Management, Day 4  

Benefits

·   A PMMC certificate of accomplishment is awarded upon completion of the four day program of five courses. Completion letters are given for each course.

·   Our instructors have extensive industrial experience. They focus on providing you with practical skills and tools using relevant case examples.

·   Each class is highly focused and promotes maximum interaction.

·   You can network with other project management professionals from a variety of industries.

·   Earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) for maintenance of certification under the PMI Continuing Certification Requirements Program.

·    Applicants for PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications will have met all education requirements for eligibility.

Registration

Participants may reserve a seat online at the Institute of Project Management America website, by calling the Program Office toll-free at (888) 859-5659, or by sending their name and contact information via email to the Program Registrar .

Upon receiving your registration, a confirmation email is sent to registrants that includes session site information, travel information, program description, and details on how to confirm attendance and make payment arrangements.

 

Click Here to be removed from this mailing list.

The email originated from a Verizon IP 173.55.195.165 which is in Los Angeles. Previous research has shown that Jones and Patchrint are strongly associated with LA in general and the Hacienda Heights area in particular. The SMTP server was at 167.160.94.170 (Corey Manshack, Texas). The spamvertised site is instituteofprojectmanagementamerica.org (as discussed here)

I advise you to research the so-called Institute of Project Management America (along with The Grant Institute and the North American Program Planning and Policy Academy [NAPPPA) yourself. In particular, I would personally recommend not booking a course with them, and not accepting a job offer as a trainer.

Scam: "CNnet Dispute Solutions Ltd" cn-network.com / cn-network.org

This email from a Chinese domain registrar styling itself as "CNnet Dispute Solutions Ltd" is a scam.

From:     james@cn-network.org
Date:     14 July 2014 11:12
Subject:     About Internet Trademark Issue: [redacted]


Dear Manager,

(If you are not the person who is in charge of this, please forward this to your CEO,Thanks)

We are a organization specializing in trademark consulting and domain name registration services in China. We just received an application sent from "HaiTon Importing Co., Ltd" on 13/07/2014, requesting for applying the "[redacted]" as the Internet Brand and some Chinese domains such as .cn/.com.cn/.hk/.asia ect... for their business running. Though our preliminary review and verification, we found that this keyword is currently being used by your company and is applied as your domain name. In order to avoid any potential risks in terms of trademark dispute and impact on your market businesses in China and Asia in future, we need to confirm with you whether "HaiTon Importing Co., Ltd" is your own subsidiary or partner.

Will your businesses in China and Asia be impacted potentially if they apply for this trademark? And will you agree this company to apply for this trademark? Please contact us immediately within 10 working days, otherwise, you will be deemed as waived by default.

Please contact us in time in order that we can handle this issue better.


Best Regards,

James Tan

Auditing Department.

Registration Department Manager
4/F,No.9 XingHui West Street,

JinNiu ChenDu, China

Office: +86 2887662861

Fax: +86 2887783286

Web: http://www.cn-network.com



Please consider the environment before you print this e-mail.

Don't worry, this is a scam. There is no such company as "HaiTon Importing Co". Nobody is trying to register these worthless domains, there is really nothing to worry about. I've explained it all in this video.

They have a website at cn-network.com and are soliciting replies to cn-network.org. Registration details are as follows:

Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Wang XiaoGang
Registrant Organization: Cheng Du Chuang Ning Wang Luo Ke Ji You Xian Gong Si
Registrant Address: No. 69  JinFangYuanDong Road  ChengDuJinNiu District
Registrant City: ChengDuShi
Registrant Province/state: SC
Registrant Country: CN
Registrant Postal Code: 610000
Registrant Phone: +86.2887783286
Registrant Phone EXT: +86.2887783286
Registrant Fax: +86.2887783286
Registrant Fax EXT: +86.2887783286
Registrant Email: 253885777@qq.com
Registrant Email EXT: 253885777@qq.com
Registry Admin ID: 42771277

I can find the following domains that use the same contact details:

cn-nic.org
cn-network.org
cn-network.com
cn-network.net
cnnetcor.com
cnnetpro.com

This scam has been going around for years, and it is just being randomly spammed out and you should simply ignore it.

Video: Chinese Domain Scams

"TT PAYMENT COPY" spam

We've seen spam like this before. It comes with a malicious attachment.

Date:      Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:09:28 -0700 [03:09:28 EDT]
From:      "PGS Global Express Co, Ltd." [pgsglobal1960@gmail.com]
Subject:      Re TT PAYMENT COPY

ATTN:

Good day sir,here is the copy of the transfer slip ,kindly find the attach copy and please check with your bank to confirm the receipt of the payment and do the needful by dispatching the material as early as possible.

We hope you will do the needful and let us know the dispatch details.

(purchase) Manager.
                   ------sent from my iphone5s-------

 It comes with an attachment TT PAYMENT COPY.ZIP containing the malicious executable TT PAYMENT COPY.exe which has a VirusTotal detection rate of 19/54. According to Malwr this appears to be a self-extractive archive file which then drops (inter alia) a file iyKwmsYRtDlN.com which has a very low detection rate of 1/52. It isn't clear what this file does according to the report.

"Estado de Cuenta Datallado en Línea (Statement Datallado Online)" spam contains a Macro virus

This Spanish-language spam comes with a Word document containing a Macro virus.

From:     Banco Santander [altacuentas_cash@santander.com.mx]
Reply-to:     noreply@santander.com.mx
Date:     10 July 2014 09:52
Subject:     Estado de Cuenta Datallado en Línea


Estimado Cliente:

Por este medio le enviamos el estado de su cuenta del día 08/Jul/2014.
Le recomendamos descargarlo y así mantener un registro de sus activos.

El estado de cuenta se encuentra adjunto en este correo en formato Microsoft Word.

Para cualquier duda o aclaración puede comunicarse a Súper Línea Empresarial.

Atentamente,
BANCO SANTANDER.

******************PRIVACIDAD DE ESTE MENSAJE**********************
Este mensaje esta dirigido exclusivamente a las personas que tienen las direcciones de correo electronico especificadas en los destinatarios dentro de su encabezado. Si por error usted ha recibido este mensaje, por ningun motivo debe revelar su contenido, copiarlo, distribuirlo o utilizarlo. Le solicitamos por favor elimine dicho mensaje junto con cualquier documento adjunto que pudiera contener. Los derechos de privacidad y confidencialidad de la informacion en este mensaje no deben perderse por el hecho de haberse trasmitido erroneamente o por causas de interferencias en el funcionamiento de los sistemas de correo y canales de comunicacion. Toda opinion que se expresa en este mensaje pertenece a la persona remitente por lo que no debe entenderse necesariamente como una opinion del Grupo Financiero Santander y/o de las entidades que lo integran, a menos que el remitente este autorizado para hacerlo o expresamente lo diga en el mismo mensaje. En consideracion a que los mensajes enviados de manera electronica pueden ser interceptados y manipulados, el Grupo Financiero Santander y las entidades que lo integran no se hacen responsables si los mensajes llegan con demora, incompletos, eliminados o con algun programa malicioso denominado como virus informatico. Este mensaje no debe interpretarse, por ningun motivo como una oferta de venta o de compra de valores ni de instrumentos financieros relacionados. Los acentos en la leyenda de confidencialidad se han suprimido para una mejor lectura

This translates roughly as:

I hereby send you the status of your account on 08/Jul/2014.
We recommend you download and keep track of your assets.

The statement is attached to this email in Microsoft Word format.

For any question you can contact Super Business Line.

Best regards,
BANCO SANTANDER. 

Attached is a file ESTADOCUENTA_2457.doc which contains a Word Macro virus. However, because most people's settings would stop a Macro virus running then it actually contains detailed instructions on how to remove your security settings.

The first page reads:

El contenido no puede ser mostrado.
Para poder ver el contenido de este documento debe habilitar los Macros de Microsoft Word, luego cerrar y abrir el documento.

Pruebe lo siguiente:
Habilite los Macros y luego vuelva a abrir el documento.
En este documento podrá encontrar una guía proporcionada por www.santander.com para poder habilitar los macros en su Microsoft Word.

Grupo Financiero Santander México - 2014

which roughly translates to:

The content can not be shown.
To view the content of this document should enable macros Microsoft Word, then close and reopen the document.

Try the following:
Enable Macros and then reopen the document.
In this document you will find a guide provided by www.santander.com to enable macros in your Microsoft Word.

Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico - 2014

There then follows several pages with screenshots on how to disable the security in Word and Excel.. doing which of course is a bad idea. Reloading the document will then execute the Macro virus. I have defanged the document and converted it to a PDF file here. A copy of the VBA code is here (thanks to @Techhelplistcom).

The VirusTotal analysis shows just 1/54 virus scanners detect it. The Malwr analysis gives some clues as to what is going on in the string dump, especially the reference to baulretro.cl/tienda/cache/wp/ss.exe (186.64.120.59 / Zam Ltda, Chile) which appears to be a malicious binary (at the moment the file is 404ing, but it was working recently).

The properties of the Word document don't give much of a clue:

Authors are "OFEyDV", last saved by "clein" which matches to a few other recent malicious Spanish-language documents [1] [2] [3] [4]. The creation date indicates that perhaps this started off life as a genuine document and has been adapted for evil purposes.

Originating IP for the spam is 124.42.127.221 (Langfang University, China) via 199.192.145.152 (web17.gohost.com).

It's a lot of hard work to get your computer infected, but it does also look quite convincing. Word Macros are very rarely used by anything and you should definitely not fiddle with them if you don't need to.

NatWest fails when it comes to basic phishing precautions - report

It's late, so I'll just copy-and-paste this release about a rather stupid failure by NatWest to set an SPF record for one of their critical domains..

NatWest Fail To Adequately Protect Customers Online From Increasingly Sophisticated Cyber Crime Threats 

London UK, Wednesday 9^th July 2014 – A leading email security specialist organisation has identified a simple yet important flaw in online banking systems which could be exposing unknowing customers to cyber-orientated threats.

Graeme Batsman, director of the London based IT and email security company 'Atbash', has identified a vulnerability in the system used by NatWest – highlighting a susceptibility to phishing emails (spoofed) and malware.

The flaw identified in the current email security set up employed by NatWest bank has been found to decrease the possibility of phishing emails being identified and filtered out safely, thus protecting online customers.

Mr Batsman commented “Being a security techy, I spent time pulling software, spoofed emails or viruses apart to see exactly how they work and where the possible flaws can be seen. During early July I was handed a sample of an email from NatWest which slipped past the security system. After inspecting the problem and testing the vulnerability I identified that the problem was a missing SPF record.”

A 'Sender Policy Framework' (known as an SPF) is a free, open source method of identifying and capturing dangerous and compromised emails by comparing records saved online against the actual email received. A full configuration to close the vulnerability would have taken around 30 minutes and costs nothing to implement.
Graeme Batsman continued “To put it simply NatWest’s email servers are based within the United Kingdom, so if someone was sending an email from New Zealand pretending to be NatWest, it should get blocked. When an email is sent there is a simple check done in the background to see where the email should come from (in this case UK) and where is actually comes from (in this case New Zealand), If the 2 do not tie up then email servers will determine the email to be fake and it will be blocked.”

Unlike other cyber threats facing large corporations with an obligation to protect customer data, this particular vulnerability in the NatWest system would have cost nothing to address. By integrating an SPF record on the system, the bank would have increased the chance of email spam filters detecting that the email is a fake and as a result, offering better protection for their customers.
Whilst NatWest.com does have SPF records set up, the critical domain nwolb.com which is used for online banking login does not. This leads to cyber criminals being particularly attracted to the nwolb.com domain.

This is obviously a major concern to NatWest online banking customers, however other major banks such as Metro Bank, Barclays, Santander and Lloyds already have SPF records setup for their domains which relate to online banking login paths.

Knowing banks it would have taken a lot more than 30 minutes to fix this and millions of pounds of money. Oh yes.. taxpayer's money in the case of NatWest. But it certainly does look like a basic security failure that makes me glad that I bank elsewhere..

Scam: "All Company Formation" (allcompanyformation.com / businessformation247.com)

Sometimes it isn't easy to see what a scam is, but this email hit my spamtrap advertising an outfit that can allegedly create offshore companies and acquire all sorts of trading licences and things like SSL certificates.

From:     All Company Formation [info@allcompanyformation.com]
Date:     7 July 2014 12:58
Subject:     [Info] Worldwide Company Formation Services - EV SSL Approval Services


We have a team of agents in different countries we are providing Company Registration services in the following Countries:

-United Kingdom
-USA
-Malaysia
-Syschelles
-Hong Kong
-Indonesia
-Dominica
-UAE
-South Africa
-switzerland
-Singapore
-India
-Panama
-Anguilla
-Belize
-Nevis
-Cyprus

If you need other than above countries so please contact us for more information..we are also providing offshore bank account services:

Bank locations are :

-Mauritius
-Belize
-Seychelles
-Cayman Islands
-Cyprus
-Hong Kong
-St. Vincent & Grenadines
-Latvia
-St. Lucia
-Brokerage Account in Panama
-Nevis Bank Account

other services:

-Comodo EV ssl Approval and documentation
-Geo Trust ssl Approval and documentation
-Symantec ssl Approval and documentation
-Veri Sign Approval and documentation
-Trustwave Approval and documentation
-Trust Guard Approval and documentation
-Valid safe Approval and documentation
-Truste Approval and documentation
-Others (as per your request)


For order and need more informations kindly contact us : www.allcompanyformation.com

Email: info@allcompanyformation.com

skype : companiesformations

The spam originates from 209.208.109.225 which belongs to Internet Connect Company in Orlando, Florida.. Orlando being a hotbed of fraud which would make it ideal for twinning with Lagos. The spam then bounces through a WebSiteWelcome IP of 192.185.82.77. None of those IP give a clue as the the real ownership of the site.

The spamvertised site of allcompanyformation.com (also mirrored at businessformation247.com) looks generic but professional.

It is plastered with logos from legitimate organisations, presumably to give it an air of respectability.

You can pay for these "services" using any one of a number of obscure payment methods:

EgoPay: e.allcompanyformation@gmail.com
OK Pay: ondrejpavilic@gmail.com
Perfect Money: U3128238

I wouldn't bet on "ondrejpavilic" being a real person, it sounds suspiciously like this ice hockey player.

The contact information seems deliberately vague and there are no physical contact addresses or company registration details anywhere on the website:

E-mail: info@allcompanyformation.com
Telephone: 315-944-0992
Skype: CompaniesFormations

The telephone number looks like a US one, but on closer examination appears to be a Bandwidth.com VOIP forwarder to another number (which could be anywhere in the world). These 315-944 numbers seem to be often abused by scammers.

The WHOIS details are anonymous, and the website has been carefully excised of any identifying information.

Most of the text (and indeed the whole concept) has been copy-and-pasted from Slogold.net who seem to be a real company with real contact details. They even go so far as to warn people of various scams using the Slogold name.

The following factors indicate that this is a scam, and sending them money would be a hugely bad idea:

1. The site is promoted through spam (this sample was sent to a spamtrap)
2. The domain allcompanyformation.com has anonymous registration details and was created only in December 2013.
3. There are no real contact details anywhere on the site.
4. The text is copy and pasted (i.e. stolen) from other sites, primarily Slogold.net.

Avoid.

Scam: advocatesforyouths.org, Eem Moura, Tee Bello and other fake sites

Advocates for Youth is a legitimate campaign organisation that says that it "champions efforts to help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health." It has a website at www.advocatesforyouth.org which was registered in 1996.

However, the domain advocatesforyouths.org is a completely fake rip-off of the legitimate advocatesforyouth.org site (note the extra "s") which is advertising itself through spam:

From:     Advocates for Youth [inboxteam6@gmail.com]
Reply-To:     Advocates for Youth [ljdavidson@advocatesforyouths.org]
Date:     2 July 2014 21:52
Subject:     Say No to FORCED MARRIAGE and HIV/AIDS
Mailing list:     xkukllsbhgeel of 668
Signed by:     gmail.com

Invitation Ref No: OB-22-52-30-J

OUR 12TH INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE ON “ EFFECTS OF TEENAGE MARRIAGE AND HIV/AIDS "

Advocates for Youth and co-organizers of the 12th international NGO's & CBO's conference on community Development and Development Planning have the pleasure to invite Youth Organizations, Socio Cultural Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBO) Scholars, Researchers, Health Organizations, Professionals, Business Organizations (NGOs) Religion Organizations, Human Right Organizations & Women Groups to the International Conference on" Effects of Teenage Marriage and HIV/AIDS " taking place from Wednesday 20th - Friday 22nd August 2014 in U.S.A and Monday 25th August - Friday 29th August 2014 in The NETHERLANDS respectively.

This is the most important event in the framework of the fight to Educate the Youth on HIV/AIDS, Child Abuse, human and community development which will take place in Washington DC, United States of America from Wednesday 20th - Friday 22nd August 2014 in U.S.A and Monday 25th August - Friday 29th August 2014 in The NETHERLANDS respectively.

Advocates for Youth is registered 501(c) Non profit international organization whose aims & objectives are to empower individuals and communities worldwide through offering grants for business, education, economic enhancement, community development and environmental conservation, to support groups and organizations addressing social issues, youth ad women empowerment, and a variety of philanthropic projects through grants to non-profit organization; to provide education & information with view of limiting abuse and child molestation, to support and advocate on behalf of those infected and affected by the menace or abuse and neglect to promote the well-being of mankind by empowering the capacity of charitable organization to provide effective programs of quality.

This conference will bring together 1026 representatives of NGOs/CBOs and numerous numbers of interested individual participants from all over the world. The conference will be conducted on participatory bases with satellite plenary and simultaneous sessions followed by general and small group discussions.

SUPPORT: The conference receives financial support from CitiBank New York and United Nations Youth Commission etc. This sponsorship covers the following:

1. Return Airplane travel tickets for selected delegates from their home countries to venues of the event in Washington DC ( United States of America ) and The Hague City (The Netherlands), then back to their home countries.

2. Hotel accommodations in Washington DC ( United States ) only for selected delegates and their friends.

3. Medical insurance cover for delegates throughout the entire conference duration.

Advocates for Youth will not assume the responsibilities of any other costs other than those listed above.

NOMINATION & SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS: Intending participants are requested to nominate between Five (5) to Ten (15) active members to participate. Participants should be from 14 years and above (Male or Female).

REGISTRATION PROCESS: To register to take part in this Conference, please request for the International Delegates Registration form and other conference information. The request for registration form and other conference information should be addressed to the Secretary:

Linara J. Davidson
Secretary, Advocates for youth
2000 M Street, NW Suite 750,
Washington DC 20036,
United States of America,
Tel: +1 202.600.9543
Fax: + 1 650.747.4401
Email: ljdavidson@advocatesforyouths.org
Website: http://www.advocatesforyouths.org

While we anticipate your earliest response, you are advised to contact the Secretary by email and we look forward to meeting up with you and your group in Washington DC and The Hague City to assert a new change for a stronger society.

Announcer !!!

Debra Hauser
President, Advocates for youth,
Washington DC
U.S.A.
Email: debra.hauser@advocatesforyouths.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclaimer: The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask mailers to stop spamming them. The above mail is in accordance to the Can Spam act of 2003: There are no deceptive subject lines and is a manual process through our efforts on World Wide Web. You can opt out by sending mail to email id mention here and we ensure you will not receive any such mails.

In this case the email originates from 217.120.44.73 (Ziggo / Groningen, Netherlands) and was sent to a spam trap.

The fake site is almost a bit-for-bit copy of the fake site, but things like the Contact Details page are slightly different:

The fake site has a telephone number of 202.600.9543 and a fax number of 650.747.4401. The fax number is in California, but the "202" telephone number appears to be Washington.. but on closer examination it looks like a VOIP (internet phone) number which could possibly be anywhere in the world.

But the fake site looks utterly convincing. Mostly because it is cloned directly from the legitimate site. (See screenshot above)

The domain advocatesforyouths.org was registered on 24th May 2014 with anonymous details, and the mail handler is mailhostbox.com who are a legitimate commercial provider. But what most visitors to advocatesforyouths.org will not spot is that the domain just does a framed forward to another site googleones.in/advocates4youth/ which is where things get more complicated.

googleones.in is hosted on 74.122.193.45  a Continuum Data Centers IP reallocated to:

OrgName:        Ajay Kumar
OrgId:          AK-7
Address:        801 Main St NW
City:           Lenoir
StateProv:      NC
PostalCode:     28645
Country:        US
RegDate:        2012-11-30
Updated:        2012-11-30
Ref:            http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/AK-7

OrgAbuseHandle: SNM9-ARIN
OrgAbuseName:   machiwala, shazim nizar
OrgAbusePhone:  91 22 26782833
OrgAbuseEmail:  shazim@ideastack.com
OrgAbuseRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/SNM9-ARIN

OrgTechHandle: SNM9-ARIN
OrgTechName:   machiwala, shazim nizar
OrgTechPhone:  91 22 26782833
OrgTechEmail:  shazim@ideastack.com
OrgTechRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/SNM9-ARIN

The domain is registered to:

Registrant Name:Ziggo Ziggo
Registrant Organization:N/A
Registrant Street1:stadhoudersstraat
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:rijswijk
Registrant State/Province:Zuid-Holland
Registrant Postal Code:2282pm
Registrant Country:NL
Registrant Phone:+31.0657392939
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:alzaidaemirates@hotmail.com

The "alzaidaemirates@hotmail.com" doesn't really seem to tally with the Netherlands address, but it does link in with some other contents of the server. Incidentally, Rijswijk isn't very close to Groningen being a 233Km drive so the spammer's IP doesn't match the WHOIS details.

Interesting, the root directory of googleones.in is open and this is where it gets complicated.

We can see folders with the following names:

• advocates4youth/
• alz/
• cgi-bin/
• eem/
• eemtholland/
• tbello/

"advocates4youth" contains the fake Advocates For Youth Siteas already discussed

Al-zaida Emirates

"alz" is a site called "Al-zaida Emirates" which is a ripoff of the legitimate Zamil Group Holding Company. Probably the obvious different to that the "Al-zaida" site has an "Apply For Loan" button which marks it out as some sort of finance scam.

EEM Moura and TEE Bello (part 1)

The next fake site is under "eem" which advertises itself as "EEM MOURA & TEE BELLO Group of Companies". This site is a slightly-altered copy of the legitimate Alpha Group.

There is perhaps a clue here under "Shipping" which could be advertising for a Parcel Mule job (i.e. laundering stolen goods).

EEM MOURA & TEE BELLO (part 2) [eemthollandbv.nl]

There is another fake "EEM MOURA & TEE BELLO" site in the folder "eemtholland" (and using the forwarder domain eemthollandbv.nl). This is different from the other site being a fake shopping site, a poor copy of the legitimate HollandForYou.com site.

This fake site is also likely to be recruiting people for a parcel reshipping scam.

Hotel T. Bello

The final fake site is filed under "tbello" (sounds familiar?) and is supposedly the "Hotel T. Bello" in Den Haag (The Hague). It is a poor copy of the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam.

Perhaps the "Hotel T Bello" is a fake hotel for the delegates to the fake "Advocates for Youth" conference that was advertised in the original spam.. that is certainly one way that these conference scams work.

There is not a single legitimate site on this server. Avoid.

Amazon Local "Order Details" spam / order_id.zip

This fake Amazon spam has a malicious attachment:

Date:      Wed, 2 Jul 2014 03:33:39 -0800 [07:33:39 EDT]
From:      "Amazon.com"
Subject:      Order Details

National     AmazonLocal.com
Good day,

Thank you for your order. We’ll let you know once your item(s) have dispatched.You can view the status of your order or make changes to it by visiting Your Orders on Amazon.com.
Order Details

Order R:121218 Placed on May 28, 2014

Order details and invoice in attached file.

Need to make changes to your order? Visit our Help page for more information and video guides.

We hope to see you again soon. Amazon.com

Attached is a file order_id.zip which in turn contains the malicious executable order_id_467832647826378462387462837.exe which is detected as malicious by 5/54 engines of VirusTotal. Automated analysis tools are inconclusive about what this malware does. [1] [2]

Something evil on 37.187.140.57 (OVH, France)

A group of Cushion Redirect sites appear to be hosted on 37.187.140.57 (OVH, France), although I cannot determine the exact payload of these sites you can be assured that it is Nothing Good and you may well want to block the IP.

Here is a sample URLquery report for this IP. VirusTotal also reports a low number of detections for this address.

Domains being abused in this attack include:
charlie-lola.co.uk
clashofclanshackdownload.com
check-email.org
cialis25.pl
adultvideoz.net

(UPDATE: domain names crossed out above have been secured)

In all cases the attack is carried out by using a malicious subdomain. The following subdomains have been spotted by rDNS and are an illustration only:
u2t1x94kcgm78tfitogjmfn.charlie-lola.co.uk
j9h7uktct4cg8mri2a0t1mj.charlie-lola.co.uk
p4frt6l6fuvfd931x99ayff.charlie-lola.co.uk
tl6ilmdwddgda432tx8r6xp.adultvideoz.net
xdwnzxkviyy7recx6o3b7wp.adultvideoz.net
3ttlji59f7m31ajx26ctmnw.clashofclanshackdownload.com
mbpemlkg3e6oyb1nil0y6iw.clashofclanshackdownload.com
ipb0e6gyl3oncrkelry1lfp.adultvideoz.net
huqla44lvwmxh7xjhtaq0lj.charlie-lola.co.uk
xqskvg1xqaxbi6q13z9b4rp.adultvideoz.net
t9su831121c8r5or2feha7t.charlie-lola.co.uk
wyxu3oez5ft5rufht09mttt.charlie-lola.co.uk
3eo5hresu1a1516ufa681gj.charlie-lola.co.uk
1xb601q9k4ktfdvqi31mhrt.charlie-lola.co.uk
4qhbnyqhifpuxvoxaj8fhjp.check-email.org
gihhyaqq6ehfnxipbbj8fnp.adultvideoz.net
wyxu3oez5ft5rufht09mttt210553d228156921089e2ef107d2c1f61.charlie-lola.co.uk
7yl01vizcjnq2r8k1c2229p.clashofclanshackdownload.com
sfab6xb5ahiiuyrnv8hyrjt.charlie-lola.co.uk
c7hfahqlxxwj5uvvuulhyt7.clashofclanshackdownload.com
wvohhjwauiln9hvq7nhvkxi.clashofclanshackdownload.com
t9su831121c8r5or2feha7t221453d201d448c7589e2d68b4e1eeb3f.charlie-lola.co.uk
192rkauuv6uuodfp9vjk3ip.adultvideoz.net
u2t1x94kcgm78tfitogjmfn214653d1fd553376a863d8fa4c8357152.charlie-lola.co.uk
y9er5auuv159idfp94v93ip.adultvideoz.net
wrfttm9tz7j8286rt1icdim.charlie-lola.co.uk
fipdt61atjqlpqhv3ip5pjj.adultvideoz.net
2dw6o2t3o4m3ldqd3urr5rn.charlie-lola.co.uk
o1oynwrwabyoy3lpnullemp.adultvideoz.net
eccb2ple2n3io61ocnlylxj.charlie-lola.co.uk
oz9mfxfthty3nseq5ulhept.charlie-lola.co.uk
vbybi98n6ahxga0hlfknigf.charlie-lola.co.uk
2dw6o2t3o4m3ldqd3urr5rn203453d1ff6245fef81455e5c2f67d6fd.charlie-lola.co.uk
dx8o3le72kyvrnod9pxhypi.clashofclanshackdownload.com
5ajljohtplppqf28mrptv7m.adultvideoz.net
ekneql6voyx9yl3llgpbpji.clashofclanshackdownload.com
xd2n3xrvqyyurerxeo323wp.adultvideoz.net
q9i12z6kq1i9x8bvexbxe9i.check-email.org
eij03t2t97ttyizacnm1qhi.cialis25.pl
ekneql6voyx9yl3llgpbpji207253dd486a9392d86820f01eb1afca5.clashofclanshackdownload.com
s2toz89du52uetctfctw3zj.charlie-lola.co.uk
e1jlzq2t97mtuik7ccm1ehi.clashofclanshackdownload.com
e1jlzq2t97mtuik7ccm1ehi501553d272a175fc69b885025dbad9609.clashofclanshackdownload.com
eearh6ft21f1u3a2e95uy7p.adultvideoz.net
c7hfahqlxxwj5uvvuulhyt7504153d274a615987cc9b10729b1b4d87.clashofclanshackdownload.com
c7hfahqlxxwj5uvvuulhyt7902153d274894606a7d1108c7b58e09a6.clashofclanshackdownload.com
de2v8wu6l0sd3xbvmdtrdm7214653d251032854059ba8f2a19e587fc.clashofclanshackdownload.com
jlx9opd9ge26hk9j4zyiqlp.clashofclanshackdownload.com
jlx9opd9ge26hk9j4zyiqlp503453d2766b46e828c50c75b8ca5a70a.clashofclanshackdownload.com
u2t1x94kcgm78tfitogjmfn.charlie-lola.co.uk

Several no-ip.com domains seized by Microsoft

It appears that the nameservers for the following dynamic DNS domains belonging to no-ip.com may have been seized by Microsoft as the namesevers are pointing to NS7.MICROSOFTINTERNETSAFETY.NET and NS8.MICROSOFTINTERNETSAFETY.NET

3utilities.com
bounceme.net
hopto.org
myftp.biz
myftp.org
myvnc.com
no-ip.biz
no-ip.info
noip.me
no-ip.org
redirectme.net
servebeer.com
serveblog.net
servecounterstrike.com
serveftp.com
servegame.com
servehalflife.com
servehttp.com
servemp3.com
servepics.com
servequake.com
sytes.net
zapto.org

This seems to have had the effect of taking down any sites using these dynamic DNS services. This will probably impact a lot of things like webcams, home security systems, personal VPNs any anything else that uses these domains.

Usually this happens when Microsoft gets a court order prior to legal proceedings. Now, although these domains are widely abused it is not no-ip.com themselves doing the abusing. I do recommend that businesses block access to dynamic DNS sites because of the high level of abuse, but I do feel that it something that network administrators should choose for themselves.

UPDATE 1:  Microsoft's statements on the takedowns is here along with details of an accompanying lawsuit targeting Mohamed Benabdellah, Naser Al Mutairi and  Vitalwerks Internet Solutions LLC (who operate no-ip.com).

UPDATE 2:  The Nevada lawsuit mentioned above also includes some domains that I have added in italics. Also, the domain noip.me has been seized which is specifically excluded from the Nevada lawsuit, which indicates that legal action has also been taken in Montenegro which indicates just how pissed-off Microsoft are.

Fake job offer: Edwards Electrical and Mechanical / Edward Electricals Y Mecánicos (edwards-elec.com)

Edwards Electrical and Mechanical is a wholly legitimate contraction based in Indianapolis in the US. This spam message is not from them, but someone abusing their name.

From:     Charles Benneth [tonyudeani@n-tocomisltd.com]
Reply-To:     charles_trading@outlook.com
To:   
Date:     30 June 2014 01:49
Subject:     Part-Time Job Offer


Estimado Señor / Señora

Tenemos una vacante para el puesto de oficial de cuentas por cobrar. ¿Te
gustaría trabajar desde su casa y obtener semanal remunerado? Estamos
ofreciendo esta posición a todos los solicitantes interesados. Por favor,
lea atentamente. Esta oportunidad de empleo está dirigido a proporcionar
parte / los solicitantes de empleo a tiempo completo, y también a las
personas que quieran trabajar desde casa, y se les paga semanalmente por
la recepción de pagos de nuestros clientes de deducir la comisión y
remitir el equilibrio. Envíe sus informaciones para obtener más detalles.

Nombre Completo
Contacto Inicio Dirección Plus Código Postal (No P O Box)
número de teléfono
edad
Fax Si Cualquiera
Un reconocimiento rápido de la recepción de este correo electrónico será
apreciada.

Gracias por su comprensión total.

Charles Benneth
Presidente / CEO
Edward Electricals Y Mecánicos.
http://www.edwards-elec.com/index.php

This translates roughly as:

Dear Sir / Madam

We have a vacancy for the position of Accounts receivable officer. Do you
would like to work from home and get paid weekly? We are
offering this position to all interested applicants. Please
read carefully. This employment opportunity is targeted at providing
part / applicants for full-time employment, and also to
people who want to work from home and get paid weekly by
receiving payments from our clients, and deducting fees
remit the balance. Send information for details.

Full Name
Contact Home Address Plus Zip (No PO Box)
phone number
age
Fax If Any
A quick recognition of the receipt of this email will
appreciated.

Thank you for your full understanding.

Charles Benneth
President / CEO
Edward Electricals and Mechanical.
http://www.edwards-elec.com/index.php 

The job is actually money laundering, which is a criminal activity. The email solicits replies to the free email address of charles_trading@outlook.com and originates from from 41.58.2.22 (Swift Networks, Lagos, Nigeria) via 188.40.62.68 (node3.trudigits.com / Hetzner, Germany).

Unless you want to spend some time in jail, I would recommend giving this particular Nigerian scam a wide berth.

Vladimir Tsastsin sentenced to 6 years, 4 months in jail

A search of the office of Vladimir Tšaštšini
Photo: Jassu Hertsmann
Source: DELFI.ee

Sometimes the wheels of justice work very slowly. Back in 2011 I mentioned that Vladimir Tsastsin had been arrested in Estonia - the kingpin of EstHost, EstDomain and Rove Digital among other criminal enterprises, Tsastsin and his accomplices were responsible for a great deal of illegal activity in the past decade.

In this case a Court of Appeal in Estonia handed down a prison sentence of 6 years 4 months to Vladimir Tsastsin, and his accomplices were jailed from ranges of 1 year 10 months to 3 years 10 months or fined up to €100,000.

A full report of the sentences can be found here (in Estonian) or autotranslated below:

The circuit court sentenced Vladimir küberkurijategija Tšaštšini more than six years in prison

www.DELFI.ee
June 26, 2014 16:38
                    

The District Court sentenced today Tšaštšini Vladimir and his associates guilty of large scale money laundering activities of criminal association.

The Court of Appeal overturned the decision today, Harju County Court judgment of 20 December 2013, was sentenced to Vladimir Tšaštšin, Valentina Tšaštšina, Timur Gerassimenko, Dmitri Egorov, Konstantin Poltev, Oak Development LLC, Credit Union Ltd., IT Consulting, LLC and Infradata Novatech Ltd, and the case acquitted new decision, which ordered all parties guilty of large scale money laundering activities of criminal association.

Dmitri Egorov, Konstantin Poltev Novatech Ltd, and was convicted of a criminal offense as facilitators. Vladimir Tšaštšin was convicted in a criminal organization, the organization and management.

Do not subject to being sentenced to the penalty of Vladimir Tšaštšinile 6 years and 4 months and 6 days in prison.

Valentina Tšaštšinale sentenced to 3 years 10 months in prison, Timur Gerassimenkole 1 year, 10 months and 9 days, Dmitri Jegorov 1 year and 8 days, Konstantin Poltevile two years and eight days in prison.

Oak Development LLC, was sentenced to a financial penalty of 100,000 euros, Credit Union Ltd. for 60,000 euros, Infradata OÜ 40,000 euros, IT Consulting for 20,000 euros and Novatech LLC for 20,000 euros. Also convicted were confiscated criminal assets.

The indictment accused Parties Act to the greatest extent in money laundering and criminal organization.

The District Court denied the position of the county in which the county court held that the predicate offense, or computer crimes are not shown because there is no final judicial decision in this regard.

The District Court found that the purpose is not a final judicial decision is required, it is sufficient if there is evidence that a predicate offense has been committed. Proved the predicate offenses being committed U.S. indictment and other evidence gathered in the matter.

The Court of Appeal found that there was no malicious software downloads computer users to consent because there is no evidence that computer users have agreed to the installation of malware on their computer, and the relevant provisions of the amendment.

It also disagreed with the district court of the county's position that the prosecution has violated the principle of prohibition of double punishment because the parties have been charged in the money laundering and criminal organization, but the U.S. indictment accused the parties of computer crimes. Thus, making various allegations.

The decision can be challenged in the Supreme Court within 30 days, said a spokesman for the Tallinn Administrative Court and the District Court.

USPS Express "Parcel Invoice" spam

This fake USPS spam is pretty Old School in its approach:

Date:      Thu, 26 Jun 2014 06:19:42 -0700 [09:19:42 EDT]
From:      USPS Express [notice@uspc.com]
Reply-To:      no-reply@uspc.com
Subject:      Parcel Invoice

Dear Client,

A parcel was sent to our office for you and we have tried to deliver it several times to your address on file.

Attached is the receipt used in sending you the parcel. We advise you to download and reconfirm the address on receipt if its your valid address.

View Receipt Here

Thanks for your cooperation.

Priority Mail Express
USPS.

The link in the email I had was broken, but was attempting to redirect to:
[donotclick]kadoi.gr/shopfine/redir.php
and from there to:
[donotclick]cascadebulldogrescue.org/xmlrpc/invoice.zip

This .zip file contains a malicious executable invoice.com (a .com file.. that really is old school) which has a VirusTotal detection rate of 29/54. The Malwr report shows an attempted connection to klempfrost.zapto.org on 199.21.79.114 (Internap, US). Other automated analysis tools are less conclusive [1] [2].

Recommended blocklist:
199.21.79.114
kadoi.gr
cascadebulldogrescue.org
klempfrost.zapto.org

RBS "Outstanding invoice" spam leads to malicious ZIP file

This fake RBS spam leads to malware:

From:     Bankline.Administrator@rbs.co.uk [Bankline.Administrator@rbs.co.uk]
Date:     25 June 2014 15:25
Subject:     Outstanding invoice

Dear [redacted],

Please download on the link below from dropbox copy invoice which is showing as unpaid on our ledger.

http://figarofinefood.com/share/document-128_712.zip

I would be grateful if you could look into this matter and advise on an expected payment date .

Many thanks

Max Francis

Credit Control

Tel: 0845 300 2952

The link isn't a Dropbox link at all, but it downloads an archive file from [donotclick]figarofinefood.com/share/document-128_712.zip which contains the malicious executable document-128_712.scr which has a VirusTotal detection rate of 4/54.

Automated analysis tools [1] [2] [3] show that it attempts to phone home to babyslutsnil.com on 199.127.225.232 (Tocici LLC, US). That domain was registered a few days ago with the following (possibly fake) details:

Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-06-12
Registrar: Domain names registrar REG.RU LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 1606
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@reg.ru
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +7.4955801111
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Viktor Ponomarev
Registrant Organization: Private Person
Registrant Street: veselaia d 81 kv 818
Registrant City: Moscow
Registrant State/Province: Moscow
Registrant Postal Code: 156737
Registrant Country: RU
Registrant Phone: +79267463723
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: tiosombovisi1987@mail.ru
Registry Admin ID:

doctorydvu.ru pharma spam has a .VCF attachment

This pharmacy spam comes with a .VCF attachment to try to bypass spam filters and common sense. In case you didn't know, a .VCF file is a vCard contact file that can be imported into your email application.

From:     Leticia Boyer M. D.
Date:     24 June 2014 10:25
Subject:     I'm your new family physician

Hello, my name is Leticia Boyer, M. D., and I'm your new family physician.

I want to recommend you online pharmacy with great amount of medicine and 70% discount.
I haven't believed till I checked it by myself. I'm sending you my vCard,
so you are able to find more info about me as well as link of mentioned pharmacy. 

The attachment is Leticia_Boyer_MD.vcf although probably it will change from spam-to-spam. The contents of this particular .vcf file are:

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION;TYPE=WORK:3.0
FN:Leticia Boyer
N:Leticia Boyer;;;;
PROFILE:VCARD
ADR:;;He goes on to explain his pimping experience gave him the ability to get into new businesses.;NY;NY;28006;USA
EMAIL:[redacted]b90d3@pol.ir
ORG:TopPharmacy
URL:http://[redacted].doctorydvu.ru/?1113E36D0FED4E75BD169B5698E88
NOTE:The station was located to the south of Raglan street and between Evans street and Station street.
END:VCARD

The link in the email isn't malicious as it is just a fake pill site.. but it could be. This is a fairly novel approach at spamming though (I first saw it a couple of days ago) and it could well trick people into adding a contact.. although whether or not they would be daft enough to believe that this "new physician" would really be recommending a pharmacy with a Russian domain name remains to be seen.

jobcenterusa.org fake job offer

This fake job offer is either money laundering, a parcel reshipping scam or some other activity that will get you into serious trouble with the authorities.

Date:      23 Jun 2014 13:11:56 -0600 [15:11:56 EDT]
Subject:      we are interested in your CV
Priority:      normal

We would like to greet you in our big and friendly company, thank you for applying to our HR and your interest to our company business.

Right now due to increasing of expansion policy we are offering promotional positions in our US company branches.
This opportunity is for highly motivated and energetic people who wants to join our family business whose main routine will be providing
administrative logistical and human resources support for our clients.

The work involves variety of logistical, administrative, and office management tasks, directions and guidelines you will be
receiving from your personal manager.

If you have an ability to establish and organize productive relations with clients;
strong communication skills, if you posses good team work skills, if you have an ability to revise plans for shifting priorities,
work under supervision and if you respect deadlines - apply, fill in short registration form and send it to us,
take your chance and maybe really soon you will receive a reply back from us and you phone will rang,
and one day you may become a part of our team:

Company registration form:
-Full name;
-Contact mobile & land line phone number;
-Email address;
-Current residence.

Please call or email us for any further assistance: Hillary@jobcenterusa.org

If you reply to this message, it gets routed to a server mx.jobcenterusa.org hosted on 5.202.129.73 in Iran. The WHOIS details for the domain are also fake:

Registrant ID:orghk03546035062
Registrant Name:Heidi Kissell
Registrant Organization:Heidi R. Kissell
Registrant Street: 223 Rainbow Road
Registrant City:Los Angeles
Registrant State/Province:CA
Registrant Postal Code:90017
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6262646624
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +1.6262646624
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:info@jobcenterusa.org

The spam I saw originated from a Mexican cable subscriber on 187.247.113.56 and had a fake Italian address on it. Basically, everything screams fake job offer.

These domains are all releated:
trabajogov.com
lights-usa.net
lavoroit.org
profesia-cz.co
jobcenterusa.org

This video explains about the parcel reshipping scam which is a likely "logistics" task for anyone who gets involved in this fake company.

Obama sends me an important message about surveillance

Obama sends me an important message about surveillance. No, really. But perhaps not the Obama you are thinking of.

Date:      Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:36:02 +0800 [11:36:02 EDT]
From:      CCTV Surveillance [mail@globalsourcescctv.com]
Reply-To:      mail@globalsourcescctv.com
Subject:      [IMPORTANT] Surveillance

Hi,
Good day

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our company.
WEISKYTECH founded in 2006.
Export 90% products to developed countries in North America and Europe,
established close business relationship with many famous security companies around the world.

Our Products Line
| CCTV camera. (IP CAMERA.HD-CVI CAMERA.ANALOG CMOS/CCD.)
| NVTKITs. DVRKITs.CVRKITs. (4CH,8CH,16CH)
| POE SWITCH (4.8.16.24CH POE SWITCH. 15W.25W POE MODULE).
| NVR.CVR.DVR

We want to give to you GOOD - CHEAP - FAST Surveillance products.
Obama here, looking for your reply needs and questions.

Reply me & quality products can be stand your inspection!

Best Regards,

Mr Obama, 

There's no website, so this spam is soliciting replies via email so globalsourcescctv.com must be valid for receiving mail (indeed, the MXes are mxbiz1.qq.com and mxbiz2.qq.com). Let's have a look at those WHOIS details then..

Registry Registrant ID: 1821794
Registrant Name: WILSON
Registrant Organization: Obama
Registrant Street: LONGHUA
Registrant City: shenzhen
Registrant State/Province: Guangdong
Registrant Postal Code: 518000   
Registrant Country: China
Registrant Phone: +86.75536956066                        
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +86.75536956066                        
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: 595642135@qq.com                       
Registry Admin ID: 1821795

Wow.. Obama again. Must be legit. Or perhaps not..

"Domain Listing Expired" scam spam (ibulkmailer.com / 192.99.148.65)

I've received this spam to the contact details for several domains I own in the past few weeks:

Date:      Sun, 22 Jun 2014 07:53:10 +0200 [06/22/14 01:53:10 EDT]
From:      Domain Notification [chandan@gmail.com]
Reply-To:      chandan@gmail.com
Subject:      re: Domain Listing Expired

Attention: Important Notice

ATT: [redacted].COM
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT
[redacted].COM
[redacted]

[redacted].COM
Please ensure that your contact information is correct or make the necessary changes above

DOMAIN SERVICE NOTICE

Domain Name: [redacted].COM
Search Engine Submission

Pay By

June 30,2014
 PART I: REVIEW SOLICITATION


Attn: [redacted].COM
As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification for your business Domain name search engine registration. This letter is to inform you that it's time to send in your registration and save.

Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.

Privatization allows the consumer a choice when registering. Search engine subscription includes domain name search engine submission. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer. Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate you on the web.

This Notice for: [redacted].COM will expire on June 15,2014 Act today!

DETAIL OF SERVICE: ANNUAL WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION FOR DOMAIN NAME [redacted].COM
Detail of Service:
SEARCH SUBMISSIONS
Act by Date:
06/15/2014
For Domain
Name:
[redacted].COM


Select Term
Your Existing Domain
Period Covered
Price
    [redacted].COM        
1year     Valid for 1 Year CLICK TO RENEW     06/15/2014 - 06/15/2015     $75.00
2year     Valid for 2 Year CLICK TO RENEW     06/15/2014 - 06/15/2016     $119.00
3year     Valid for 3 Year CLICK TO RENEW     06/15/2014 - 06/15/2017     $199.00
4year     -Most Recommended- CLICK TO RENEW     04/04/2014 - 04/04/2024     $295.00
5year     Limited time offer - Best value! CLICK TO RENEW     Lifetime     $499.00


Payment by Credit Card
Select the term and complete the form above, (do not reply this mail with your credit card details on this mail , just click on pay above. once we receive your pay we will send you details and report after payment is successful, also make sure you provide us with your correct information at time of signup.

Unsubscribe me from this list


Powered by Interspire

It looks like a domain renewal notice.. but it isn't. It's a renewal notice for SEO services. "But wait," I hear you cry, "I haven't signed up for any SEO services!" to which my answer is "Exactly!"

This is where the spam moves from being annoying to being a more of a scam. The use of the word "Renew" implies that you already have a relationship with these people but you do not. There is nothing to renew, but stating that this is something you already use is not only incorrect but in my personal opinion it is a fraudulent misrepresentation.

The link in the email goes to 192.99.148.65 (OVH Canada, not surprisingly) and then onto a landing page at ibulkmailer.incom on 192.185.170.196 (Websitewelcome, US).

The WHOIS details for ibulkmailer.com are as follows:

Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: kumar, chandan
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: DDA FLAT NO 556 PKT B HASTSAL
Registrant City: New Delhi
Registrant State/Province: Delhi
Registrant Postal Code: 110059
Registrant Country: IN
Registrant Phone: 7838808080
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: admin@ibulkmailer.com

WHOIS details can easily be faked, but the "Chandan" name in the registration details tallies with the address chandan@gmail.com in the spam itself.

An examination of the sites co-hosted with ibulkmailer.com along with several other identifying factors identity this website as belonging to Chandan Kumar of CNS Web Technologies Pvt Ltd (U72300DL2009PTC191574) of India.

To save you from having to do the analysis yourself, a shortcut is to visit Chandan Kumar's LinkedIn page which links through to ibulkmailer.com in one of the "Company Website" links.

The contact details for Mr Kumar's company are below:

CNS Web Technologies Private Limited
625 LIG HASTSAL
VIKAS PURI
New Delhi
Delhi
110059
INDIA
+91-7838808080
chandan988@gmail.com
chandan_988@rediffmail.com
chandan_988@yahoo.com

If you get these spam messages (and the link still leads to ibulkmailer.com) then one effective way of dealing with it would be to forward the message to the webhost abuse department at abuse -at- websitewelcome.com.

Doing business with spammers is never a good idea, and doing business with spammers who misrepresent your relationship with them is likely to be a very bad idea indeed. Avoid.

The following domains are also associated with CNS Web Technologies and Chandan Kumar. Do with them what you will.

ibulkmailer.com
webtrafficguru.net
ewebmail.in
ewebmailsolution.info
host-cns.com
cnswebtech.com
rajumehandiart.com
chauhanmehandiart.com
maahihosting.com
cnswebtech.com
cnsxpert.com
websms.co.in
ibulkmailer.in
domainnotices.in
ebizmail.in
pconlinexpert.com
turnaround-systems.com
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