Magazine Resubscription Scam

As a geek in touch with geek-like things I obviously hold a subscription to Wired Magazine. Through their web site, I got in on a pretty good deal for a 2-year subscription to the magazine. So imagine my surprise when an Email found its way to my inbox stating that my subscription was about to expire.

One of the first things you should learn in personal computer security is your "Something is not right radar" aka SINRR. As you begin to look at your correspondence with a more scrupulous eye, your SINRR will throw out small volts of mental electricity that have you saying "Something is not right here!" In my case, my SINRR is pretty honed from all my past experiences. The largest telling sign for me is that my magazine isn't due for a resubscribe for another full year (If you have so many subscriptions you can't keep track you can easily check your mailing label to identify how many remaining magazines you have left).

With my mental alarms going off, I clicked on the "From:" area to view the full email address. It was masked as Wired Subscription Department, however when I looked at the whole address it showed up as wired@ashtech.com. Somehow this third party farmed my Email address and sent off this subscribe notice, which was significantly more expensive than if I purchased the subscription directly off the wired web site. This kind of thing doesn't just happen with magazines. I've come across scams to register for class action lawsuits, which redirect you to a site asking for personal information.

How do you protect yourself from these scams? Many sites offer a few tips, and I will of course impart my own wisdom.

Look at the sender's email address. Does it look legitimate? Google the address and see what comes up. Often times you will find forum posts of other people wondering what the sender is all about.

Ask yourself if the email is timely, did it come as a reply to correspondence that you've recently sent out? If you are expecting the email, likely it is legitimate. If it comes out of the blue and has you confused, likely it is a scam.

Does it ask for personal information? Consider that the magazine you've subscribed to already has your name, address, phone number, credit card/check. They do not need the information. Many scams are now asking you to "verify" that it is indeed you by asking "Security questions". Do not answer these questions unless it was you who contacted the company. Also make sure that the contact information you have is legitimate and pulled straight from the company's web site and not some redirected URL.

With the economy getting so rocky, there are many scams popping up in the wild as people become desperate for money or being advantageous to people's concerns. Hone your SINRR, use it often.