Earthlink users, SCAM ALERT * This could cost you MONEY!

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

Over the past 3 months, I have been getting these annoying messages from Earthlink, (forcing me to spend less time reading my spam) telling me my acount information needs to be updated, and service will be cancelled. I also got an update from "Earthlink Security" (redshirts?) saying my password had been compromised, but they caught it, and changed my password back to what it was before. They then wanted me to change my password.
Out of lazyness, I was ignoring this, and the service continued. When I finally got some time to deal with this crap, (Earthlink has been so SLOW with the email, it is like pulling teeth) I started the update process.
HEY, wait a minute! I don't remember my SS number and mother's maiden name being used to sign up, so what has changed? (Plus I just don't give those things out)
I sent Earthlink a nasty email, saying "You didn't need to know this to start my acount, and nothing has changed, you need no new info from me. If you now need to know these things, I now need a new internet provider!"

Then, the responce.

These 2 web sites, are NOT afilliated with Earthlink!
They had they right look to them, and the links provided looked right, but it wasn't them!
Giving these scammers my email password would have been bad, but if I had simpley trusted what looked on the up and up, and "updated" my acount, I think identity theft wasn't far from happening.

This potentialy disastrous scenareo was stopped by both lazyness, and angry paranoia!

Moral, DON'T give out SS numbers and card numbers if you can avoid it, and make legitimate businesses answer your questions before telling them jack shit.
And don't assume requests for info are comming from where they claim to originate from.
Call the customer service line on a known phone number, and only talk to a live human when giving out stuff like this.(unless you phone is tapped, and then you have much bigger problems than a scam!)

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Thanks for the heads up. We use EarthLink at home, and over Winter Break my mother got the password e-mail. But I don't think we compromised it, because we changed it through the actual homepage and not by a link in the message.

[General Zod]

sounds like the paypal scam that was going on a few months ago. glad i don't use earthlink though.

[Dalton]

Y'all might want to mosey over to G&C and look for the IE redirect trick. Essentially, it's a way to hide the true URL by using a special character to hide the rest of the URL, such as earthlink.com @scamsite.com.

Check it out

[EmperorMing]

I don't even use my Earthstink email.

Thanx for the heads up tho...