Issue 86 - October 2008 - Page 12

Pages in this month's issue:

1. Burundanga Business Card Drug Warning
2. In-N-Out Burger Discounted Food Hoax
3. Fraud Transactions Warning Malware Email
4. Human Parts Factory Hoax
5. Free Fuel Offer From Shell Hoax
6. Virus Complaint Email Carries Malware
7. Miley Cyrus Death Hoax
8. Chinese Milk Contamination - Recalled Products Warning Email
9. Poverty Reduction And Eradication Advance Fee Scam
10. ATM Card Advance Fee Scam
11. Internet Rumour - UNESCO Chooses Indian National Anthem as Best In The World
12. American Airlines Loyalty Program Phishing Scam
13. Senator Collins Oil Spill Interview - The Front Fell Off
14. Online Quiz to Help Bihar Flood Victims
15. Internet Access Suspended Malware Email

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Summary:
Email claims that the recipient can receive $50 from American Airlines for taking a short online survey (Full commentary below).



Status:
False

Example:(Received, September 2008)


Commentary:
This email, purportedly from US based airline American Airlines, promises the recipient $50 in return for logging on to a website and filling out a short customer survey. The message claims that the bonus is a new rewards program that forms part of the existing American Airlines AAdvantage program. Customers are instructed to click a link in the message to logon to the American Airlines website and "follow the steps" to claim their bonus.

However, the message certainly does not originate from American Airlines and the promised bonus is simply the bait in a clever trap designed to steal financial information from unwary Internet users. Although "AAdvantage" is the name of the genuine American Airlines rewards program, this email is in no way associated with the program and uses the name without permission.

Those who take the bait and click the included link will be taken to a bogus website where they are instructed to login to take the survey. The login page looks almost exactly like that on the genuine American Airlines website, as shown in the screenshot below:


Once "logged in" to the bogus site, the visitor will be asked to fill out the following brief survey:


Finally, the visitor is presented with a further online form that asks for a large amount of personal and financial information, including a social security number, name and address and credit card details:


All of the information entered into the bogus form can be harvested by scammers and used for credit card fraud and identity theft.

Incarnations of this classic phishing scam were also distributed back in June 2008. At that time, the airline warned their AAdvantage customers about the scam messages.

Internet users should be very cautious of any unsolicited emails that promise some manner of reward or prize or request users to login to a webpage and provide personal information. Phishing scams have become quite sophisticated, and it may be difficult to tell the difference between a genuine company website and a fake web page designed to steal customer information. Always check the veracity of any suspect emails before clicking any links or opening any attachments.



References:
American Airlines Warned Against a Phishing Scam
Email scam targets frequent flyers

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Pages in this month's issue:

1. Burundanga Business Card Drug Warning
2. In-N-Out Burger Discounted Food Hoax
3. Fraud Transactions Warning Malware Email
4. Human Parts Factory Hoax
5. Free Fuel Offer From Shell Hoax
6. Virus Complaint Email Carries Malware
7. Miley Cyrus Death Hoax
8. Chinese Milk Contamination - Recalled Products Warning Email
9. Poverty Reduction And Eradication Advance Fee Scam
10. ATM Card Advance Fee Scam
11. Internet Rumour - UNESCO Chooses Indian National Anthem as Best In The World
12. American Airlines Loyalty Program Phishing Scam
13. Senator Collins Oil Spill Interview - The Front Fell Off
14. Online Quiz to Help Bihar Flood Victims
15. Internet Access Suspended Malware Email