A recent flurry of emails received by me led me to email a, totally innocent, company; Greeting Card Association.
The emails arrive, allegedly form greetingcard.org, and are worded along the lines of:
Good day.
You have received an eCard
To pick up your eCard, choose from any of the following options:
Click on the following link (or copy & paste it into your web browser):
There follows a link, sometimes to a web page or, more recently, to an exe file. Do NOT click the link!!
The emails end with a link to the Greeting Card Association website, giving a level of honesty to the emails but here is the reply I got from Greeting Card Association when I asked them to stop sending me their SPAM emails:
Please be aware that the Greeting Card Association is NOT sending these e-mails. They are fraudulent.
The Greeting Card Association's URL is being used in a "phishing" scam. The GCA does not provide e-card mailing services, and the instructions contained in these messages should not be followed.
The e-mail should be deleted. Do not click on any link within the e-mail, as it might download a virus into your computer.
We have placed a consumer alert on our website regarding this and other e-card scams and how to recognize and avoid them.
We recommend that you report these malicious phishing scam e-mails to the FBI's internet crime center at www.ic3.gov.
If you receive such an email telling you you have an e-card then you could report it if you wish.
Me? I just "bin" them!