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Old 14 Feb 2018, 02:34 PM   #1
noclue
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Is this a phish?

----- Original message -----
From: "" <admin-mail@hughes.net>
To: myname@fastmail.fm
Subject: Incoming mails were placed on pending 2/9/2018
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2018 01:37:08 +0200

Hi User myname@fastmail.fm
You have 9 Incoming mail on Pending Due to the security alert
Recovery Back Mail
Regard
IT - DEPARTMENT -ADMIN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This doesn't look like anything I have ever received from FastMail. Should I open it?
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 02:57 PM   #2
FredOnline
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Personally, I would delete.

But then I don't have any contacts with a hughes.net e-mail address.

Are there any links in the message?
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:00 PM   #3
noclue
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No. No links. It just looks suspicious. I've been with FastMail for 12 years, and I've never seen anything like this before.
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:02 PM   #4
FredOnline
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Do you send to or receive e-mails from any of your contacts with a hughes.net address?
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:09 PM   #5
noclue
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Never even heard of 'em!
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:11 PM   #6
FredOnline
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Well, then I would delete and forget it.

If it continues to happen, report back!
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:12 PM   #7
noclue
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That's what I figured, but I wanted to check with the experts! I have to wonder how someone got my email address??
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 03:19 PM   #8
BritTim
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I would suggest forwarding the email (as attachment) to abuse@fastmail.com, with a covering note. In the highly unlikely event that the email is something you should read, FastMail will reply back accordingly. In the 99.9% probability that the email is malicious, it may help FastMail build protections to prevent others being targeted.
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Old 14 Feb 2018, 04:27 PM   #9
noclue
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Thanks, Brit Tim. Will do.
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Old 16 Feb 2018, 10:48 AM   #10
n5bb
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Hughesnet is a a satellite communications provider and is owned by EchoStar. It's definitely a phishing message and should be deleted. See an official warning about this scam:
http://customer.kb.hughesnet.com/Pages/3918.aspx

Bill
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Old 16 Feb 2018, 03:28 PM   #11
noclue
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It always boggles my mind that people do things like this. I have no idea how they got into my email. FastMail ID'd it as spam, but I was curious about it so I looked at it to see if it was actually from FamtMail. It just didn't feel like something FastMail would send out. I've already sent it to the abuse address with a short note.

Have you ever received one of these emails? I don't know what I did wrong to invite them into my life...
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Old 16 Feb 2018, 04:15 PM   #12
BritTim
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue View Post
It always boggles my mind that people do things like this. I have no idea how they got into my email. FastMail ID'd it as spam, but I was curious about it so I looked at it to see if it was actually from FamtMail. It just didn't feel like something FastMail would send out. I've already sent it to the abuse address with a short note.

Have you ever received one of these emails? I don't know what I did wrong to invite them into my life...
There are many ways you can end up being targeted by such messages. It may be as trivial as you having a simple account name or alias that is targeted by a dictionary attack. For example, jane@fastmail.com is likely to receive a lot of random spam. Another common issue is that a legitimate correspondent may end up (deliberately or accidentally) getting you on lists of valid email addresses targeted by such attackers.

It was probably not your fault. A good technique for the future that can help a lot is:
  • when signing up for a new service or with a new company, use a unique email address (e.g. jane+Amazon@fastmail.com);
  • when you receive spam or a phishing message, look to see what email address it was sent to; and
  • use a Rule to ensure future messages to that address are either deeted or placed in a special folder.
If it seems a company you do business with has sold your email address, you might want to reconsider working with them in future.
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Old 16 Feb 2018, 06:54 PM   #13
noclue
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Good idea to check which of my three email addresses was the target. I am a shut-in, so I do a lot of online shopping. It might be tricky to figure out who the culprit was, but it's a good place to start.

I am terrible at rules! They are sort of like high school algebra to me, and I was lousy at that. I do plan to give it a go though.

Thanks again for your help, Brit Tim.
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Old 16 Feb 2018, 09:49 PM   #14
JamesHenderson
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admin-mail at hughes.net doesn't exist.

I have always found this link useful...
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Old 17 Feb 2018, 12:26 AM   #15
janusz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesHenderson View Post
I have always found this link useful...
Thanks!
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