Fake Microsoft Update e-mails

[zippy]

I was wondering if Microsoft has a place where I can mail headers of a fake
e-mail supposedly from them, in hopes that Microsoft may be able to pinpoint
or get some sort of idea where some of these scams are coming from. I've
never been good a decipering spoofed e-mails, i.e. tracking down where it
really came from. I would think Microsoft would be interested in whomever
is impostering them. Atleast I'm smart enough to smell a rat, I kinda feel
sorry for the ones who fall for these tactics. I have the e-mail in my
trash can, but would like to report it somewhere before permanently deleting
it.

I could take the easy way out and just delete the darned things, but I'd
rather spend a few more minutes and catch the losers behind it. I detest
spam and scams like this........ Althouh I am lucky to only get one or two
spams a day. I accidently posted once or twice with my real e-mail, but
that was all it took.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I was wondering if Microsoft has a place where I can mail headers of
a fake e-mail supposedly from them, in hopes that Microsoft may be
able to pinpoint or get some sort of idea where some of these scams
are coming from.

These things have been extremely widespread for a long time now.
Microsoft is well aware of it, and there's no need to send them
more examples. Nobody has successfully found the senders as yet;
it's not as easy as we would all like it to be.

 

[francis.gerard]

I was wondering if Microsoft has a place where I can mail headers of a fake
e-mail supposedly from them, in hopes that Microsoft may be able to
pinpoint
or get some sort of idea where some of these scams are coming from. I've
never been good a decipering spoofed e-mails, i.e. tracking down where it
really came from. I would think Microsoft would be interested in whomever
is impostering them. Atleast I'm smart enough to smell a rat, I kinda
feel
sorry for the ones who fall for these tactics. I have the e-mail in my
trash can, but would like to report it somewhere before permanently
deleting
it.

afaik, microsoft does not have a reporting facility for this kind of thing,
and you said it yourself, the e-mails are spoofed, the culprits are usually
skilled enough (the software they use, that is) to fudge all headers and IP
packets that could reveal the source. most of this stuff comes from open
mail relays and zombie agent machines on the internet that have already been
compromised.

microsoft has a security website in case that interests you:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/

 

[Plato]

I was wondering if Microsoft has a place where I can mail headers of a fake
e-mail supposedly from them, in hopes that Microsoft may be able to pinpoint

Best bet is simply to delete the mail without opening it and not worry
so much.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

What you're apparently receiving is the output of a computer
infected by one of several widely publicized, wide-spread, mass
emailing worms. The virus' authors have deliberately spoofed the
Microsoft information in the hopes of garnering more victims. This
sort of email has been very common for the last year or more. The most
widely-known are:

W32.Swen.A_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Dumaru_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

W32.Gibe_mm
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected]

Trojan.Xombe
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.xombe.html

Microsoft never has, does not currently, and very probably never
will email unsolicited security patches. At the most, if, and only
if, you subscribe to their security notification newsletter, they will
send you an email informing you that a new patch is available for
downloading.

Microsoft Policies on Software Distribution
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/policy/swdist.asp

Information on Bogus Microsoft Security Bulletin Emails
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/news/patch_hoax.asp

How to Tell If a Microsoft Security-Related Message Is Genuine
http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/authenticate_mail.asp

Remember, any and all legitimate patches and updates are readily
available at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. You should develop
the habit of checking this site at least once a month to keep your
computer up-to-date. (Notice that this is the true URL, rather than
the bogus one that may have been contained in the email you received.)
Any messages that point to any other source(s) or claim to have the
patch attached are bogus.

You're receiving these emails because your email address is in
the address book of someone infected with a worm, and/or because you
posted your real email address somewhere on-line, either in a forum
accessible to the public and spambots, such as Usenet, or on an
untrustworthy web site that subsequently sold your address as part of
a mailing list. One thing you can do is notify _everyone_ with whom
you've ever corresponded via email that one or more of them may be
infected with a mass emailing worm, and should take the appropriate
steps. You can also ask your ISP to take steps to preclude their mail
server from passing on such emails. Many ISPs have such filtering
capabilities.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH

 

[Tom]

I was wondering if Microsoft has a place where I can mail headers of a fake
e-mail supposedly from them, in hopes that Microsoft may be able to pinpoint
or get some sort of idea where some of these scams are coming from. I've
never been good a decipering spoofed e-mails, i.e. tracking down where it
really came from. I would think Microsoft would be interested in whomever
is impostering them. Atleast I'm smart enough to smell a rat, I kinda feel
sorry for the ones who fall for these tactics. I have the e-mail in my
trash can, but would like to report it somewhere before permanently deleting
it.

I could take the easy way out and just delete the darned things, but I'd
rather spend a few more minutes and catch the losers behind it. I detest
spam and scams like this........ Althouh I am lucky to only get one or two
spams a day. I accidently posted once or twice with my real e-mail, but
that was all it took.

I think MS at one time probably was getting alerts from concerned people regarding these bogus, and potentially damaging email alerts. This being said, they are more than aware of it all, and have taken the course of alerting others how to tell what is a real alert from MS and not. Since there are many ways idiots want to do these things with their lives, alerting MS on every new kind is not a bad thing, but it is just a fact that it probably never will be prevented, so MS simply alerts concerned customers with the real deal.

Best thing to do it, is setup getting valid alerts from Microsoft, ass it is also a way a reminder to what security issues arise. Subscribing is a good way by going here;
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/alerts.mspx

Read here about genuine alerts actually coming from MS:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/authenticate_mail.mspx