GREETING CARD SCAM

In the good olden days when the internet had newly emerged, friends and families exchanged greeting cards on occasions of weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and festivals. It was an easy and common practice to send a greetingcard via email. Greeting cards came in different exiting colors, designs, animation effects that made the entire greeting gifting process exciting. The scammers industry is so clever and smart that they are just looking for loopholes that will allow them to run their strategy that will help them cheat the innocent users and help themselves make money. The identity theft scammers took advantage of this and started sending out fake greeting cards via emails, claiming to be from the victim's friends email address. The ultimate aim of the scammer was to get the personal information stored in the victim's computer, if the victim downloads the greeting card.

The greeting card scam, also known as the e-card scam, is a deceptive practice where scammers send emails or messages that appear to be greeting cards, often for occasions like birthdays or holidays. These emails contain links or attachments that, when clicked, can lead to malware being downloaded onto the recipient's device. The malware may steal personal information, log keystrokes, or even take control of the victim's computer.

In some cases, the greeting card scam may also direct the recipient to a fake website that resembles a legitimate e-card service. Victims are then prompted to enter personal information, which the scammer can exploit for fraudulent purposes.

To avoid falling victim to the greeting card scam, individuals should be cautious when receiving unexpected ecards, especially from unfamiliar senders. They should verify the legitimacy of the sender and the e-card service before clicking any links or downloading attachments. It's also crucial to have updated antivirus software to detect and block potential threats.

Popularly known in the name of 'The Greeting card scam', this is a fraudulent practice followed by scammers to launch a malicious malware on to the victims system that will give the scammer access to all the personal and financial information stored in the victim's computer. The greeting card scam is one of the olden days trick to obtain some personal information of the victim. Greeting cards look attractive and friendly. These cards are a resemblance of a gift to someone. And when one sees unexpected gifts, there is excitement and urge to immediately see what it is about. The scammers take advantage of the excitement and urge of the victims that will actually make them click on the greeting card link. And once the link is clicked, the scammer's malicious software gets downloaded in the victim's computer, giving the scammers server access to all the important and private information available in the downloader's computer.

The greeting card scam is a deceptive tactic used by cybercriminals to trick individuals into downloading malware or revealing personal information. It typically involves sending emails or messages that appear to be legitimate greeting cards, often for occasions like birthdays, holidays, or special events. These messages may contain enticing subject lines or emotional appeals to encourage the recipient to open them. Inside the message, there is usually a link or attachment that, when clicked, can lead to the installation of malicious software on the recipient's device. This malware can range from viruses that damage the system to more sophisticated forms like ransomware, which can lock files until a ransom is paid.

In some variations of this scam, the victim may be directed to a fake website designed to resemble a legitimate e-card service. Here, they may be prompted to enter personal information, which the scammer can then exploit for fraudulent activities. To protect against greeting card scams, individuals should be cautious when receiving unexpected cards, especially from unknown senders. They should verify the legitimacy of the sender and the e-card service before clicking any links or downloading attachments. Having updated antivirus software can also help detect and block potential threats. Additionally, using common sense and being wary of unsolicited communications can go a long way in avoiding falling victim to this type of scam.

The scammer sends out an attractive looking greeting card to thousands of email addresses, hoping to be opened by few. The email is drafted in such a way that addresses the victim in a friendly manner. There is a sense of personal touch incorporated in the greeting card email. The scammer sends the greeting card as a link to the victim, which upon clicking directly downloads an infectious malware to the system of the victim. The malware automatically opens pop up messages, pop up ads, and unexpected windows all over the computer screen of the victim. Once this malware is downloaded on to the victim's computer, the malware starts to send out all personal information and financial data that is present in the victim's computer to the fraudulent scammer's server. The scammer then has access to all your personal information like bank details etc, which will be hacked and the victim will end up losing all the money associated with the bank.

The malicious software that is written by these scammers is highly dangerous and the victim can lose everything once this malicious software gets downloaded in the computer. Below are some of the possibilities that can take place if the victim happens to download the malicious software by clicking on the greeting card link.
  * The scammer can track each and every key stroke that the victim enters on the keyboard, while monitoring all the sites that the victim browses. This way the victim can lose out on the important details like credit card details, banking passwords and so on, if the victim happens to access these once the malicious software is downloaded on the system.
  * The malicious software can also send out spam emails to many people on the friends list via the victims email ID.
  * The scammer can get the entire list of email addresses from the victim's email address book; this can then be used to send out more greeting card scam emails. The possibility of them being opened will be more as these would be sent directly from the victim's email. And hence people receiving them will believe it to be legitimate and will end up clicking on the greeting card scam link.

The scammer makes the best efforts to make the Greeting card email look legitimate and from a trusted source. The ultimate aim of the scammer is to get the link clicked by the victim.

If you happen to receive a greeting card out of the blue, and suspect it to be from an unknown source then,
  * Firstly try to analyze the entire email step by step. Try to look for clues if any that might hint about the email being from a suspicious source.
  *If you doubt the email even 1%, then immediately delete the mail with the greeting card.
  * Do not follow any links on the greeting card email if you suspect anything to be fishy.
  *If you happen to receive the greeting card link from a friends emails address, it is always better to clarify and cross check once before going and clicking on it.
  * Hover you mouse arrow over the greeting card link and try to read and analyze the link address. If you suspect it to be from a non legitimate source, that will surely lead to some problems, hence you can decide then and there on if you want to click on the link or not.
  * If you by mistake happen to click on such a link that turns out to be a scam; you can immediately get your system checked for antivirus and get your entire system scanned. This way you will limit the possibilities of success of the greeting card scammer.

We are providing the Spam Checker Tool for your convenience. Here you can enter the email or the contact number that you suspect to be a scam. This tool checks it with our spam database list and ensure you regarding the email or the phone number is real one or the bogus.

Report scam to United States government-you could file a complaint about scam or other crime here.

Related links: