The Spam Recycling Center (SRC), the
consumer assistance Web site sponsored by a coalition of anti-spam advocates,
issued a “Spam/Scam Alert” for America Online subscribers.
The alert was issued after a number of spam messages designed to capture AOL
subscriber names and passwords were reported to the SRC by AOL subscribers.
The spam e-mails offer AOL users a free month of Internet access or other
free offers. To collect, users are told to click on a hyperlink that leads to
a fake AOL Web site.
At that site, AOL users are asked to logon with a screen
name and password to receive their gift. After logging on, the user receives nothing and their
account information is stolen and used to send out more spam.
“These are brazen scams by some spammer or spammers to get access to AOL
accounts,” said Ian Oxman, president of ChooseYourMail.com and founder of
the SRC.
“Because the stolen passwords and screen names are then used to send
more spam, we felt compelled to issue this Spam/Scam Alert. Its bad enough
getting spammed, but being tricked into paying for a spammer’s Internet
access is just plain theft.”
The SRC collects spams contributed by e-mail users around the world and
forwards them to the Federal Trade Commission. The contributed spams are also
shared with anti-spam technology developers to aid them in their efforts to
stop spam.
