SCAM EMAIL IS NOT FROM THE REAL CODEMASTERS (please read this)

[Brasse]

Wren and I both just received emails purporting to be from Codemasters (the UK Distributor for LOTRO).

It is NOT.
Do not respond to this email in any way.

The really disturbing thing is that it seems to have lifted emails from  this site.  Not uncommon these days, unfortunately.

There are a great many spiders and bots that run around collecting data from forums and websites (Google has them too).

This is why many people will fill in bogus email addresses for websites - for the sites that REQUIRE a valid email address to register, you can enter a real email to first sign up, and then go back and change it to something invalid.

Personally, I use my hotmail addy for all registrations, because I expect that account to be filled with spam. I just watch it closely when I use it to first register for something.

Also: always set your email to PRIVATE to reduce being contacted by these jerks.

Other than that... always check your emails for phishing. I've had some pretending to be from my bank, from my car insurance broker, you name it. You can usually tell right away, because they are extremely poorly written. I've had lizards with better language skills.

In this particular mail, they talk about the fact that I might be trying to sell my LOTRO account, that it's against the EULA, and then go on to mention that "We at Blizzard Entertainment take infractions of the user agreement quite seriously."
ORLY?
When did Blizzard buy LOTRO again? Morons.

I think I've found my comic topic for tomorrow....


Was any economic funding capital in the last budget directed at quashing this crap? It could be a whole new industry, hehe.

Brasse
The Peeved Dwarf

[Perragin]

Hehe, thanks Brasse. I just got the same 2 emails. Yeah, like Blizzard bought out LOTR in complete secracy! I also was drawn to the extremely poor spelling. Glad to know it's a hoax for sure, though I would have been suprized if it was'nt...

[Kwee]

As promised, here's a bump.

[Kwee]

And another bump to get the commercial-thingy down below this post.

[Mandie]

heh I got the same thing and didn't even make it to the Blizzard reference .. the whole long list of other people's email addresses at the top gave it away.

Is there any point sending this to Turbine or Codemasters?  I'm guessing there's not much they can do about it anyway?

[Esri]

Just bumping this back to the top so everyone will see it.

[Kwee]

And another bump.

I have a post here about my lousy Senator and her porky ways, but Brasse is right, you need to be careful about who you "listen" to with your clicks in email.

People who would take your info and cheat you, steal from you or even just misrepresent you are . . . what?  Sucky?  Evil?  If you're at all like me, you've had to spend HOURS cleaning your system of their junk.

I propose to you that most of our elected representatives - who get their own health-care and other services - are just as self-serving.  They get millions of dollars from people to run for election.  THEN they get free raises and cost of living increases.

They get free stamps to send you any info they want, slanted any way they want.

They get to travel anywhere they want, at our expense.

But really, the people who purposefully screw with your computers are worse even than Congress folks.  If you think about it, a guy that just ruined your computer for no reason MUST be worthy of censure. . .   tomatoes in the face,  public ridicule or serious jail-time for all the hours he has cost us.

Our time is our own, and our time is what we're worth, whether we spend it googling porn or creating something for others to consume.  Thus, if these jerks create worms, viruses or other things that kill our computers or cost us time, they are guilty of just as much of a crime as if they had destroyed a tractor, or broken a TV camera.

[Brasse]

I forwarded the email on to Turbine. They may wish to act on it, or post warnings to players.
Now, to start today's comic on the matter.

;-)#

[Mandie]

where'd you send it too Brasse?  spam@turbine?


(this is not a bump)

[Owari]

I also didn't notice the Blizzard mix up. I didn't really read the email that closely.

What tipped me off was the fact that I'm pretty sure I don't have a LOTRO account... since I've never purchased, nor have I played the game... so I found it hard to believe that I would be trying to sell my non existant account, EULA rules or EULA no rules.

So yeah, I dismissed it as a phish.

[Reginald]

I feel left out, they didn't send me the email.

(this is a bump)