I just received an interesting email, claiming to come from Adobe. This is the first time I’ve seen such a sneaky attempt to get me to download something to my computer that could do some pretty nasty stuff to me, my computer or my online reputation.
Take a look at this screen shot:
The email seems to come from Adobe Systems Incorporated, but when I did one level deeper, it’s from Adobe@news.protours.de – not an Adobe address I am familiar with. I also clicked on the download links – I use a virtual machine that can easily be reset for such potentially dangerous clicks – and I ended up on a server in the former Soviet Union (.su) – always a good indication that whatever a web site claims is probably not what you are going to get.
So, if you receive such an email, don’t click on the link. There is only one source for save upgrades of the free Adobe Reader: Adobe’s own site at http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Same as my experience with that message today (4/12). Not to mention that if you look carefully, the message is from Adobe Systerm Incorporated. I’m always a little wary of companies that can’t spell their own name. news.protours.de/go sent another fake offer to me at the same time; can’t remember for what, as both messages were flushed down the spamhole within a minute or two of my checking them out.
Aha, it just came back to me. The second fake ad was for Skype–at least they spelled it right. Apparently they focused on offering free software products that a lot of people want, or at least find useful.
I tried to alert Adobe to the scheme 1 month ago, when I received the first email from “Adobe Systerm Incorporated “, but received no answer. They seem utterly uninterested in alerting the public to these phishing schemes.
Two dead giveaways to the scheme:
1. “.de” is the republic of Germany (not USA). It should read only, “adobe.com”
2. The return address is written “Adobe SysteRm” (with an “R” where it doesn’t belong!).