Just wanted to know if anyone here has had the same thing happen to them

[Celine]

I have recently been contacted by some members saying they received this message in email...


"Hi dear,
I am interested to know more about you as i see your email ID here on (http://projectavalon.net) as i am searching for a serious cordial
friendly relationship. From there we know ourselves well. If you wish, reply me back for nice communication. i wait your answer soonest.
Sincerely,
Celine"

One of these people decided to investigate and responded to the email...trhis was what they wrote to me afterwards...

"

hi celine

i replied to that e mail, and got a reply from a 25 year old african woman claiming she lived in a orphanage in god knows where, needing help .

as soon as i read that reply i new it was a scam i just wanted you to be aware of it.

cheers for now"




The Admins and MODS are looking into this further...but i just wanted to know if anyone here has had the same thing happen to them...

[Bill Ryan]

-------------------

Spam. Happens all the time..... but not usually within the software of the forum!

It's a vBulletin security issue, and the admins will handle it.

[Celine]

Glad to know ... :)

Just wanted anyone else who may be having the same issue to be aware...

Richard and i are quite busy today ...so just thought this might help.

[Agape]

Charity trust would help perhaps ..

[Wood]

I have recently been contacted by some members saying they received this message in email...
[...]


Maybe this is a way to research the identity of people here, disguised as a classic scam. It would be a way to check that the email address is indeed correct and maybe get extra information as real names or ips.
The paranoid alley of my brain can't help firing up in these situations :)

[blue777]

Maybe this is a way to research the identity of people here, disguised as a classic scam. It would be a way to check that the email address is indeed correct and maybe get extra information as real names or ips.
The paranoid alley of my brain can't help firing up in these situations :)

These scams are being done all the time from certain countries in Africa......your intuition will tell you if they are scams or not...they always seem to want money etc.....and give you a sob story..
regards
blue

[bluestflame]

is an ideal front , once verified as a scam easily dismissed , but I get Bill's point they are not supposed to be able to get a hold of our email address through the software running this site

[MiguelQ]

its very easy to check that IP adres for sure

[Celine]

I did report it to the MODS...i know they have alot on their plates right now.

Havent heard anything about it yet though

[Jacqui D]

I received one of these and another member Zaina on this site, i was about to contact admin but see it has now been noted.
blessings jacqui x

[Celine]

Jaqui..it is important both you and zaina do contact the MODS as soon as possible,

[Elandiel BernElve]

Can anyone tell me who MONITOR is: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?855-Monitor

is it a forum surveillance bot or just someone with a scary name? it seems only Blue777 and Bill are friends with em...
I don't know him

[blue777]

Can anyone tell me who MONITOR is: http://projectavalon.net/forum4/member.php?855-Monitor

is it a forum surveillance bot or just someone with a scary name? it seems only Blue777 and Bill are friends with em...
I don't know him

He/she is in good company then
lol
blue

[Elandiel BernElve]

He/she is in good company then
lol
blue

thats a fact ;) youve been quite the busy bee since march 2010 with 616 posts...

Kudos

[Celine]

Could a MOD PLEASE respond to this??

[Ross]

I havent received anything that you speak of via the forum, however most corrospondence out of Africa, sad storys, wanting to connect with ppls which often lead to a scamming agenda. Ive had many via my e-mail over the years including MSN, Facebook ect.

As far as the forum goes this is an Admin tech issue concerning security I figure?. As a MOD I don't know what I can do other than keep an eye out and talk to ADmin...

Ross

[Fredkc]

Step 1: Grab your towel, and Don't Panic!

What's up;
It does appear that the no-life weenies out there, living in mom's basement have figured out a way around vBulletin's security measures... temporarily.

This is unusual but not unexpected. After all this is the kind of thing they spent long nights looking for with the time anyone else would spend trying to make more "no-life weenies" with each other.

vBulletin is the most popular forum software on the planet. It makes this software an irresistible target. This is not a common event; yet not impossible.
I did a quick Google search, using the name and this version of the software. I turned up no reports of this happening elsewhere in the last 2 years. But it has happened before.

Compare that to the fact that Micro$not updates something for this very same reason almost weekly.

Step 2: Buck up! This is the Internet, and for most of you, this isn't your first buggy ride. so...
If you get one of these "I am interested to know more about you.." PM's, or emails, do some due diligence.
Go look up the poster in members, see how long ago they registered.
Do you know them?
Have you spoken before?
Do they post frequently?

If all this doesn't add up then, by all means report the PM, just as you can report a post (For emails, see the next post by Rich).

It can help Richard and Gareth in identifying any patterns to how this is being done, and possibly by whom. And please...
Do not click on any link in the message.
Whatever it sounds like, it isn't there!

Meanwhile, a serious look at the user registration process has begun. Until vBulletin recognizes and identifies the problem, we will have to take our own steps.

Rich, Gareth, mods, please correct me if I've erred, add what you will.

Fred

[Richard]

Hi we are taking this very seriously, can anyone who has received one of these email forward them to admins -at- projectavalon.net.

Thank you

[Fredkc]

A bump for the night shift, here on Avalon.

If you don't know what this is about, read post #1.

For what we're doing, read post 17 (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?4224-Just-wanted-to-know-if-anyone-here-has-had-the-same-thing-happen-to-them&p=39147&viewfull=1#post39145) and post 18 (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?4224-Just-wanted-to-know-if-anyone-here-has-had-the-same-thing-happen-to-them&p=39147&viewfull=1#post39147).

Thanks

http://fredsitelive.com/images/post/bump2.jpg