Hoax-Slayer - Issue 9
Email Account Scams, Of Mice and Elephants, Malware v Viruses and Spotify Phishing
Email Account Phishing Scams
Scammers want to gain access to your email account. They see it as a valuable prize.
Why? Once they have hijacked your account, they can:
Access your personal information
Emails often contain bank alerts, medical records, bills, and other sensitive data that scammers can exploit or sell.Reset passwords
With access to your email, scammers may reset passwords to your banking, social media, and other accounts and lock you out.Scam your contacts
Your email contacts know and trust you. Once in your account, the scammers can impersonate you and trick your contacts into clicking malicious links or sending money or personal information.Launch spam and scam campaigns
They can use your account to send spam and scam emails, which will trace back to you rather than the scammers.Blackmail you or steal your identity
If they find embarrassing or sensitive information in your account, they may use it to extort money from you or steal your identity.
One common method that scammers use to hijack email accounts is to send out phishing emails claiming that you must take action to keep your account active or perform important updates.
The fake messages often claim that you will stop receiving emails to your account if you don’t act by a specified cutoff date.
Clicking links in the scam emails opens a phishing website that asks you to provide your email account login credentials. Once they have stolen this information, the scammers can hijack your account and use it as described above.
Screenshot of a typical email account phishing scam:
Are Elephants Afraid of Mice? The Old Myth Revisited
As a child, I truly believed that elephants were terrified of mice.
This wasn’t something that I even thought of questioning. After all, many cartoons and comic books confirmed the idea for me. Not to mention kids’ stories that my dad read to me when I was little, and I later read myself.
Here’s a more modern, albeit somewhat satirical, take on those old cartoons to illustrate the idea:
But, many years later, after I had donned my hoax-slayer hat, I came across the “elephants are scared of mice” claim again and dug a little deeper.
Turns out that the idea is not the unassailable fact that young Brett believed it to be.
A quite famous MythBusters segment (discussed below) notwithstanding, there is actually no compelling evidence to suggest that our elephant friends are inherently frightened of mice at all!
A report on Extreme Science notes:
Many caretakers have observed mice crawling on the trunks and faces of (awake) elephants and observed that the elephants take absolutely no notice of the mice, much less express fear or anxiety in their presence. Based on observations of interactions between elephants and mice, and the apparent peaceful coexistence, it’s unclear where the myth may have originated.
This video from John Stossel also explores the myth and shows circus elephants being decidedly NOT scared of mice.
The stories I remember all suggested that the elephants were scared that the mice might run up inside their trunks, causing pachyderm panic and, ultimately, suffocation.
But, according to elephant expert Richard Lair (quoted in a Live Science report on the topic) the idea of a mouse crawling up an elephant’s trunk is actually absurd “because the elephant could easily simply blow and eject the mouse” and it would be very unlikely that said rodent could actually reach the elephant’s nostrils.
The more likely origin of the legend is that elephants are simply startled by small, moving or out-of-place animals that might cross their paths. Not just mice, but any little creature. The LiveScience report notes:
“In the wild, anything that suddenly runs or slithers by an elephant can spook it,” said Josh Plotnik, a researcher of elephant behavior and intelligence at the University of Cambridge in England and the head of elephant research for the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Chiang Rai, Thailand, told Live Science. “It doesn’t have to be a mouse — dogs, cats, snakes or any animal that makes sudden movements by an elephant’s feet can startle it.”
So, what of the above mentioned Myth Busters segment? If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out now:
At first viewing, the video seems to add at least some substance to the old story. But, although I love the MythBusters, this experiment alone is not really enough to either prove or disprove the myth.
The elephant did not appear overly scared of the mouse. Just wary and perhaps a tad startled. It certainly did not rush away in a blind, trumpeting panic, as depicted in the old cartoons I used to watch.
The Extreme Science report details some valid reasons we should not draw any concrete conclusions from the Myth Busters experiment alone. Perhaps factors other than an instinctive terror of little rodents may have been at play.
Of course, John Stossel’s video (included above) showing trained elephants acting indifferently to a mouse does not conclusively bust the myth either. Further scientific tests, with larger samples sizes and more stringent controls, would be required before we can draw any solid scientific conclusions.
But, we can at least conclude that elephants are probably not panicked by the idea that the mice will run up inside their trunks and choke them. And, there are many well-documented encounters between mice and elephants that suggest elephant indifference rather than fear. It is thus reasonable to conclude that elephants are not instinctively terrified by mice.
On a deeper level, perhaps the story has endured for so long because it offers a compelling idea about the nature of power and those who wield it. Given the right circumstances, even the mighty may tremble when confronted by the seemingly weak and insignificant. Small does not always equate to powerlessness.
It’s perhaps just the David and Goliath story reframed.
What is the Difference Between Malware and Viruses?
The term ‘malware’ is derived from the two words ‘malicious software’ and describes any piece of malicious code that can infect your computer and perform unwanted activities, such as stealing information and allowing criminals to use your computer for their own purposes.
A ‘virus’ is a specific type of malware that can replicate and spread itself (like a biological virus). Thus, technically, computer viruses are actually just a subset of malware.
While still a threat, true computer viruses are less common these days. Criminals are now more likely to deploy other types of malware that better achieve their nefarious goals.
Nowadays, although not technically correct, the terms “malware” and “virus” tend to be used interchangeably. If you see a news report or blog post warning about a computer “virus”, it is probably referring to a malware threat in general rather than a threat involving a true, self-replicating virus.
Language evolves rapidly, so it is hardly surprising that the original meaning of the term “virus” – as applied to computing – has shifted a little so that it now tends to encompass all malware rather than just a specific malware type.
But, some confusion arises because the software used to protect your computer from malware (including viruses) is still generally referred to as “antivirus” software. When these programs were first developed, true computer viruses were the type of malware threat that security firms were most concerned about. The companies therefore marketed the software as “antivirus” software.
Modern antivirus software is designed to protect your computer from many kinds of malware, not just viruses. But, the “antivirus” name has stuck and will likely remain with us.
Spotify Users Targeted in Phishing Campaign
Users of the music streaming service Spotify are currently being targeted via phishing emails.
The emails claim there was an issue with a recent payment that requires your action. However, Spotify did not send the emails, and the claim that you must update your account details is untrue. The emails are phishing scams designed to steal your personal and financial information.
The emails urge you to click a button to confirm your account details. If you do click, you will be taken to a fraudulent website that asks you to provide your Spotify email address and password to log in.
Once you have “logged in” on the bogus site, you will be instructed to fill in an “account update” form that asks for your name and contact details and your credit card information.
Online criminals can collect the information you provide and use it to steal your identity and fraudulently use your credit card.
Account update scams like this one are very common. If you receive a message claiming that you must update account details or rectify a payment issue, do not click any links or buttons that it contains. Instead, access your account via the official app or by entering the address into your browser’s address bar. If an update is required, you will be notified after you log in.
Screenshot of the scam email:
Screenshot of the fake login page:
Screenshot the fake account update form:
Can You Help Support Hoax-Slayer?
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