Skype Chat Spam Pushes Penny Stocks
Today I saw a Skype chat window pop open that was new to me. I was surprised because, when I saw it, I thought for sure it was another bogus “WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION” scareware phishing ‘attack’ (see, Deja Vu All Over Again.. Skype Says It Found A Trojan…) as these have become rather common. But this one was different.
It was the same as the others in that it contained a hyperlink, and came from a stranger, but it was just a spam. A spam pushing a penny stock.
(I have no idea if the hyperlink would have infected my machine.. but.. )
I get to see these because my Skype profile is “public”, and I am listed in Skype’s directory (for business reasons). Cybercriminals simply ‘mass mail’ these tidbits, in the “cast a big net” theory. Someone, somewhere, just might be *unwise* enough to click.
You can change your settings to “private” (if they are not already) and then only those folks who know your “user name” can contact you. If you prefer to remain “public”, click the “Block” button, and then click “Report abuse from this sender” and let the folks at Skype know someone’s misusing the system.
… Sometimes.. I just have to laugh. (It’s better than crying.) Who would be *unwise* enough to respond to this? A few folks must be.. or the criminals wouldn’t bother.
* Folks, see my current software license giveaway: Software Licence Giveaway
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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Tech - for Everyone 
Thank You for interesting information – i`ve got the same last week and just closed the windows without doing business for somebody.
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toni,
Penny stock spam has been with us for a while.. but this is the first time I have received some via instant messaging/Skype. I guess I had been lucky up to now…
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