26 Aug 2010
I get used to ignoring emails from banks with whom I don't have accounts.
We're talking about phishing here, of course - the scam where criminals send you messages purporting to be from your bank, or PayPal or wherever, in an attempt to steal your credentials and your money.
Normally, I delete them unread. But this one got my attention.
Check out the 'from' address:
That's right - 'phishing@hsbc.com'. I can't decide if that's honest or cheeky. On reflection, honesty isn't a likely option.
The email itself was the usual fairly good imitation of HSBC bank's corporate branding. But also typical was the sub-literate text.
My favourite bit is 'informations', which puts me in mind of Alexandre from the 'Compare the Meerkats' ad. Maybe he and the phisher have a common, Russian, origin. Now that is quite likely. (Moscow is GMT+03:00, plus an hour's daylight savings, but the email probably came via a proxy, such as a botnet zombie.)
It seems the phisher is trying hard with this message, but then completely loses it in the last sentence. However, I'm quite partial to the neologism 'suspensiony' and intend to use it in conversation from now on.
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