Comments on: The Art of Coarse Phishing

By: JH

JH — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:14:13 +0000

So there’s lots of phishers leaving comments on websites? eg. ‘I have had this computer for 6 months now. Its grate but theres 1 issue. it wont turn on lol (didn’t want to find a more typical example, generally they have far more typos)

By: Steve Cassidy

Steve Cassidy — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:38:11 +0000

I think it’s even smarter than that (but then I’m paranoid). By putting these errors in, these guys are limiting the IQ of people who fall for the scam, and making their admission of gullibility even more humiliating. People who don’t spot these errors or other telltale signs do not like approaching “the smart guy” (in the office, or their neighbour, or down the pub, what have you) because each time they do they have an intimate and uncomfortable Homer Simpson Moment.

The less inclined victims are to report this stuff, the more of a free run the thieves and pirates get. The people outting these things together are definitely, certainly and finally, not stupid.

By: Lise

Lise — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:24:23 +0000

Don’t tell me you’ve never received legit emails containing grammar or spelling errors? I cringe at the majority of mails in my inbox sent by professional acquaintances. I certainly wouldn’t assume a phishing attempt just because somebody doesn’t know the difference between an adjective and an adverb!

By: Tom Arah

Tom Arah — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:13:23 +0000

Well you certainly won’t get caught

By: Clive

Clive — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:54:36 +0000

My first thought on this was that the phishers might be cleverly varying the ocasional word that can easily be misread to avoid spam filters. Perhaps the phishing emails even mutate over time to avoid detection in the same way that viruses do.

Phew, I hope I spotted the deliberate error.