Potential scam

[Tony1T]

Got and email yesterday asking this. It’s a scam share the word

Hello,

How are you doing? I am about to purchase a Rolex Daytona from a member on TRF. He gave me your username as a reference, He said you would vouch for him. Kindly find his listing and details below for your perusal.

[Kevin of Larchmont]

I’ve received that before too.

[INC]

The usual scam: Report it, bur never share a phishing link...

[Calatrava r]

Only deal with people you know. If a friend or person you know is selling a watch, they will reach out to you first and ask if you will agree to be a reference.

[996marty]

Unfortunately these things happen you just have to be careful at all times

[NachoNeal]

Originally Posted by INC

The usual scam: Report it, bur never share a phishing link...

Correct.

[Rolexken]

Obviously dodgy but I don’t know what the scammer hopes to get if you click on the link ? Help please for the ignorant??

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Originally Posted by Rolexken

Obviously dodgy but I don’t know what the scammer hopes to get if you click on the link ? Help please for the ignorant??

Welp, there’s only one way to find out….

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Rolexken

Obviously dodgy but I don’t know what the scammer hopes to get if you click on the link ? Help please for the ignorant??

Phishing links redirect you to a false Forum page. If you sign in on this false page your sign-in information is captured, corrupting your personal account.

Many of these phished accounts end up on the Sales Boards to con folks out of their hare earned money.

[Zach69SS]

Wow , unbelievable even here. Thanks good looking out.

[Ninja Master]

Originally Posted by Tony1T

Got and email yesterday asking this. It’s a scam share the word

Hello,

How are you doing? I am about to purchase a Rolex Daytona from a member on TRF. He gave me your username as a reference, He said you would vouch for him. Kindly find his listing and details below for your perusal.

Can you PM the link to me?

I'm a cybersecurity guy and I will have a look to see what's going on.

Thanks.

[Rolexken]

Originally Posted by Tools

Phishing links redirect you to a false Forum page. If you sign in on this false page your sign-in information is captured, corrupting your personal account.

Many of these phished accounts end up on the Sales Boards to con folks out of their hare earned money.

I guess that’s my query - worst case scenario is they get my email address - still don’t see how that can be used to con people - I appreciate I just don’t get it (my ignorance).

[jb335]

Originally Posted by Rolexken

I guess that’s my query - worst case scenario is they get my email address - still don’t see how that can be used to con people - I appreciate I just don’t get it (my ignorance).

No, that’s not the worst case scenario.

It’s a phony phishing link that takes you to a website that looks to be the official TRF login page but it’s not. The goal of the scammer is for you to type in your real TRF username and password, then they have access to your TRF account where they will immediately change the password to lock you out. They will then use your legitimate TRF account to try and con people in who knows how many ways. Likely with phony watch sales. Hopefully doing that before you realize what’s happened and can communicate with a mod. And they try your same TRF password on other sites including your email account since many people foolishly use the same password in multiple places. If they get into your email they have a chance at your online banking etc .

This is the classic example of phishing.

Very amateurish and basic and they probably have to attempt a couple hundred times before they are successful. But it does work and that is why you always see warnings about being careful what links to follow and ensuring they are legit.


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[77T]

Originally Posted by jb335

No, that’s not the worst case scenario.

It’s a phony phishing link that takes you to a website that looks to be the official TRF login page but it’s not. The goal of the scammer is for you to type in your real TRF username and password, then they have access to your TRF account where they will immediately change the password to lock you out. They will then use your legitimate TRF account to try and con people in who knows how many ways. Likely with phony watch sales.

Correct
Some of our members with good reputations are not very savvy about these scams.

They tend to think "What, me worry?"

But that attitude leaves unsuspecting TRF members at risk.


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[Rolexken]

Originally Posted by jb335

No, that’s not the worst case scenario.

It’s a phony phishing link that takes you to a website that looks to be the official TRF login page but it’s not. The goal of the scammer is for you to type in your real TRF username and password, then they have access to your TRF account where they will immediately change the password to lock you out. They will then use your legitimate TRF account to try and con people in who knows how many ways. Likely with phony watch sales. Hopefully doing that before you realize what’s happened and can communicate with a mod. And they try your same TRF password on other sites including your email account since many people foolishly use the same password in multiple places. If they get into your email they have a chance at your online banking etc .

This is the classic example of phishing.

Very amateurish and basic and they probably have to attempt a couple hundred times before they are successful. But it does work and that is why you always see warnings about being careful what links to follow and ensuring they are legit.


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Thanks I understand now.

[Smurf_75]

I had that too... ignored it.....

[JSCP]

The text of the email OP mentions would alert me, as wouldn’t be a reference to any body. Yet one can be distracted and hit link by mistake or other.

[Ninja Master]

Originally Posted by Ninja Master

Can you PM the link to me?

I'm a cybersecurity guy and I will have a look to see what's going on.

Thanks.

OK, I had a look at it.

It's a straightforward, and unsophisticated, phishing scam.

The scammer creates a copy of the Rolex Forums login page, puts it on a website using a generic domain, and hopes you'll try to log in. He'll then get your username and password which he can use to sell non-existant watches, etc.

He'll also hope you're using the same password on many websites, and try to log in to your various accounts. This is why you must never use the same password on different websites.

Your password should be something like wordNumberSpecialCharacterWord, for example, rolex9!Raining. These types of passwords are virtually uncrackable.

What's extra ridiculous about these scammers is they don't even make an effort with their fake websites. Instead of using something like rolexforurns.com (note I'm using forurns.com not forums.com) they use an obviously fake domain.

[Taylunatic]

If they use the word “kindly”, it’s a scam.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Ninja Master

OK, I had a look at it.

It's a straightforward, and unsophisticated, phishing scam.

The scammer creates a copy of the Rolex Forums login page, puts it on a website using a generic domain, and hopes you'll try to log in. He'll then get your username and password which he can use to sell non-existant watches, etc.

He'll also hope you're using the same password on many websites, and try to log in to your various accounts. This is why you must never use the same password on different websites.

Your password should be something like wordNumberSpecialCharacterWord, for example, rolex9!Raining. These types of passwords are virtually uncrackable.

What's extra ridiculous about these scammers is they don't even make an effort with their fake websites. Instead of using something like rolexforurns.com (note I'm using forurns.com not forums.com) they use an obviously fake domain.

While a complex password is helpful for brute force efforts, this isn't the right advice for a phishing defense. No matter how complex a password is - if you willingly give it up in a lapse of awareness, you're compromised.

So, in the case of TRF and other sites that support it, 2FA is the key to not losing one's credentials to a phishing ploy. Don't you agree? I could give you my TRF password now and you'd never get in because I do use 2FA here.

I do agree one should not use same password for multiple sites for the reason you mention.


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[Rolexken]

Agree with all the above - I’m retired now but on cybersecurity courses I used to attend I was taught to have different passwords that were easy to remember but long eg. Mywatchisarolexdatejust1? and also to have a fake DOB for any non government websites.

[Ninja Master]

Originally Posted by 77T

While a complex password is helpful for brute force efforts, this isn't the right advice for a phishing defense. No matter how complex a password is - if you willingly give it up in a lapse of awareness, you're compromised.

So, in the case of TRF and other sites that support it, 2FA is the key to not losing one's credentials to a phishing ploy. Don't you agree? I could give you my TRF password now and you'd never get in because I do use 2FA here.

I do agree one should not use same password for multiple sites for the reason you mention.


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Sorry I wasn't saying a strong password will protect you from phishing, I was saying don't use the same password on different websites, otherwise a single compromise can mean the attacker has access to every account. I then gave general advice for choosing a strong password.

2FA is great protection against these sorts of phishing attacks.

[77T]

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[2000-NJDEVILS]

Originally Posted by Ninja Master

Sorry I wasn't saying a strong password will protect you from phishing, I was saying don't use the same password on different websites, otherwise a single compromise can mean the attacker has access to every account. I then gave general advice for choosing a strong password.

2FA is great protection against these sorts of phishing attacks.

Much obliged for your excellent information!