Virgin Media Community

[ALF28]

I also report phishing spam to phishing@virginmedia.com, some get through, some rejected for spam content, I have now started to include the full headers copied and pasted  from email the "email source" view option when I forward the phishing emails, this gives more info to the phishing team and is requested on the automatic reply giving the option to reply with headers, so I include them now. I t would be nice to get feedback from the phishing team but it is only an automatic standard reply notice.

[ALF28]

I understand virgin only want email sent to phishing if they are from a virgin related issue, so other scams relating to banks, shops etc not connected to virgin should not be sent? , if that is so, then in some cases banks etc have a dedicated  email scam address that the scam email can be forwarded to.

The majority of spam is not related directly to virgin so would be of no interest to virgin even though they get through virgin spam filters.

The action fraud reporting is only if a fraud has been committed and becomes more serious.

I have sent emails to virgin for fake bill notices, two last year, and spam from virgin/ntl address's but some could not be sent due to spam content.

A number of bank phising email with spoofed virginmediabusiness sender address's  could not be sent to phising due to spam content, so in these cases the spammer/hacker prevents the reporting by spam email content, and virgin filters let these emails through, some do get tagged as spam but not all of them.

[ALF28]

having tried to send a phishing emails to a bank, even though not sent to virgin, the  virgin server still blocks the spam email forwarded  to the bank due to spam content in the email, so phishing reporting is  curtailed and the phishing attempt is not possible to report to the bank for analysis. With these emails being so dangerous but they still appear in my inbox regularly and can not be reported. Many have reported this issue, one possible solution is to use a third part email client like thunderbird?, I may try that, think I have done this before in the past, will report back.

[ALF28]

thunderbird would not install on my computer does not like my windows version, also not sure about security using this , latest edition has fixed 6 security flaws in previous version so not encouraged  by that, it might run on another computer but I have decided to stay secure and only use web mail which means the reporting of spam phishing remains problematic due to some spam content, therefore my decision is to stop forwarding to phising@virginmedia.com as they can not allow the spam emails through in most cases and say they already have them? ,not sure about that though.

The best solution for me is to just totally ignore all spam emails and do nothing about them, and not use that email address, but monitor for any fraud or id theft that may be attempted by unknown spammers/hackers but no interaction with spam emails, no direct contact with spammer, if needed checks can be done with companies Directly which you do have accounts with, to ensure they are not using the old address any more but changed to a new  safe email address of choice, and it is easy to test out which email is registered  with any company by doing password reset  at log in and that guides you as to whether your old email is still in use when it should be changed.  Sorted.

[ALF28]

I keep getting what may be fake password reset requests for Netflix even though  the particular ntlworld email address was not registered currently with Netflix, the time stamp is also unusual, comes through during the night but could be USA time. Netflix  assured me the email was not registered  with them a few weeks back (but was in the past then removed) so a third part is sending the reset request, most unusual, had it a good few times which is why I contacted Netflix. I have now registered the address directly with Netflix, not via the email link sent to me but by my own password reset request (Netflix website) link and reset the password to stop it happening so at least in control of it now I hope. Netflix has payment methods so could be a high risk for hacking. I suppose it could be I was on a marketing list for Netflix as it is via amazon. So I will see if it happens again now?? could be a hacker.

The original password request headers are different to the link I requested so the slight difference in the headers may indicate a forged password request.

 If a hacker has your virgin email login  password, with there being no 2 step login verification, all your emails/contacts could be viewed by a hacker without you ever knowing, the same applies I suppose to any person who has access to servers/systems. Without encryption emails can be viewed by anyone so be careful what is disclosed in emails unless you use encryption email services. Also with there being no last access date stamp data for virgin accounts/email it is not possible to monitor who last viewed the account and where from so a hacker could view anytime without you knowing, poor security by virgin. Also if a hacker has your password login to your email he can arrange access to your accounts using that email address and take over the accounts such as banking, Neflix etc, a very dangerous possibility, hope that never happens but a good reason to use only secure email providers with 2 step verification, as all banks are now doing over the last few weeks to comply with new regulations, pity it does not apply to virgin though?

change virgin password often to ensure good security, this is what I do.

[ALF28]

NETFLIX SCAM EMAILS (email was not registered with Netflix)

I can now "confirm" the Netflix emails were definitely without any doubt a hacking/phising/malware attempt  but were so very convincing and realistic except for the latest one which has long string of abstract text  not relating to Netflix (perhaps a mistake) in the email body, so just warning other members to be aware of possible Netflix scam emails that look genuine. It is advisable only to enter Netflix accounts direct via the website not any email links. Also this means that email address's are being abused/spoofed in order to confuse the email owner that the need to contact or click on an email, and possibly fake registrations being set up with your own email so you think it belongs to you when you receive an email from a company claiming you have an account with them.

As Netflix is now available in virgin tv packages the hacker may trying to get Netflix login data to hack Netflix for free service or access to payment etc and private details like address, phone etc. It could just be random but I suspect these hackers have hacked data and knowledge of contacts for a particular email address  due to previous server hackings on the past, they seem to know all my contacts from years ago including netflix. Watch your bill does not suddenly change!

Not sure why the hacker displayed "long abstract text extracts relating  to sporting tuition methods" in the latest netflix email body (asking me to fund account) or perhaps because I had not responded to the  fake emails was just letting me know it was fake for some reason????  very strange, beware, very plausible emails that look genuine, very clever hacker at work here, uses your past data which they appear to have access to so could only be from hacking of virgin servers in the past or during the short period when google gmail provided the email service and the switchover back to virgin may have allowed the breach?, I have seen posts relating to that years ago (only guessing) but could explain the constant stream of spam/phishing and hacking attempts on my primary email ntlworld.com, some relating to past contacts. The hacker(s) is probably extremely skilled, expert at code so best not to interact with the emails at all.

Will close this subject now. These are my opinions only as a member but may serve to warn other members. I will also close my discusions/posts on email as the feed back from the community has helped me to cope with the spam problem and how to avoid it.

[ALF28]

warning,

update,just to confirm the Netflix spam/phishing email requiring a payment could not be forwarded to phishing due to spam content, it was so strange I tried to send it to virgin but was blocked, the header was most unusual and could not be read properly only a small part showed so something out of the ordinary, the text in the email was long paragraphs of terminology used for mathematical modelling and algorithms and was not related to netflix but extracts from research notes on computing and a weird IP address (Austria) sent from outlook from "paymen" via ussintra, it is a known scam email but the version sent to me has no payment details just a block of technical text as if it was pasted in by mistake, payem has" t" missing, I presume should be payment, uussinta is a known website

beware of Netflix spam/spoofing emails let through the spam filters "not tagged as spam" by virgin.

the phishing reporting is waste of time blocked again, Virgin run Netflix on the TiVo box so it should be a concern to them

[ALF28]

Previous generations of email-borne viruses and trojans required users to click on an attachment/download/file etc.
The new emails - dubbed "drive-by emails" - have been detected 'in the wild'.
'This driveby spam automatically downloads malware when the e-mail is opened in the e-mail client.
'Previously, malware e-mails required the user to click on a link or open an attachment for the computer to be infected.

I have noted recent emails  (got one today) have scripts which appear to be a repeated command to open a website link.

These are rare but  spam /fake banking, health , betting emails etc could have the potential to infect computers just by reading the email, so best to switch off html but not many email clients have this facility, virign. thunderbird, the bat are the only ones I know and perhaps outlook? but some are paid services to achieve that except thunderbird is free. Some email clients do block scripts, not sure about virgin email protections, today my antivirus refused to work and have removed it and changed to another, so it may have been compromised by an update after which it would not work, or could be something from an email that did this?, something upset the computer.

The email is now one main source of computer hacking and ransomeware as with resent cases nhs and some council authorities for instance, and can be set into motion with a dodgy email or link in the email. the hackers are getting increasingly sophisticated. Ransomeware can disable computers and files.

some antivirus packages can check email but some have removed the facility, not sure which one is best?

some antivirus has ransomeware protection not sure if windows defender will do that effectively.

are there any inbuilt protections with virgin email,would like to know the answer?

[ALF28]

email warnings,

danger, very sophisticated emails designed to infect your computer or obtain your data, control your computer etc. These are regularly landing in the inbox of 20 year old primary email address's like ntlworld.com. Virgin refuse to change primary email forcing customer to own an email that is the target of hacker/spammers and could result in computer infections, fraud. id theft etc, so if you own an email address like this be careful.

In the old days it was possible to change the primary address, mine was changed in the days before virgin took over from ntl as it was getting too much spam years ago . It is specific to the old address's, the new virginmedia address's seem clear of spam as I have some, and would make sense for virgin to ditch all old address's and switch to virginmedia.com as primary for everybody so old customers could have the choice if they wished to change from ntlworld to virginmedia, sound easy but virgin say this is impossible. for technical reasons so we have to put up with the spam or abandon the risky email.

latest email fake from boots is using "link tracking" to obtain information about the email once viewed so they are monitoring what happens to the email and its location ,computerdetails etc, the latest from a private gmail address, no email content just links to click on.

My recent problem with antivirus which switched off and could not be switched on was caused by a command  (malware)in windows which disabled the antivirus, this was found using malware tools and deleted out the offending malware. Not sure how it happened but could have been a fake update of the antivirus which disabled it, not sure if an email let something in, my computer behave strange for awhile but all antivirus check clear now, having done 5 different malware tests and only one found the offending malware, very unusual event. I now consider the spam emails coming from virgin email so dangerous that they should never be touched. One good advantage of imap is that the emails sit on the virgin server not on my computer as in the old days using popmail, and if one computer goes down they can be viewed on any computer, and at least the dodgy email are viewed only and not downloaded, but perhaps best not to view spam email at all, just delete but not click on them or just ignore them

[ALF28]

risk (use email  at your own risk?)

As virgin refuse to change primary email address's when requested, without closing your account, they are saying even if an email is receiving fraudulent /phishing emails, hard luck mate," the risk is all yours" we do not accept responsibility, however by doing this people could be victims of malware, phishing, fraud etc.This is unprofessional and could result in computer breakdown (malware) or id fraud, bank fraud etc. They then would probably offer there technical services which cost money. I have tried the free virgin antivirus but it is only free for a period, and found it was not good enough for my purposes as it lacked certain features, so use alternatives. I presume the policy is to use "email at your own risk" as it a free add on with poor support and poor spam filtering and poor security.I have never known any other provider  where an email address can not be removed or changed, so they say it is linked to accounts but the only reason for not changing it would be that virgin have outsourced it and run as an add-on by third a party?  but if that is the case why are we allowed to set up secondary address's that can be deleted or added at will. Also interesting that many posts indicate email hacking even after closing account  and 90 days period ended and access can still be made via email client even after deactivation, is it possible the virgin email is on a separate  server, not he virgin server and old email remain and can be recycled or hacked and used for sending spam which I also have reported old ntlworld.com address's sending spam to me recently that are still valid emails and reported to virgin, have since stopped. In my own case although changing my virgin account log in details, the same password can still access the primary email via an email client like thunderbird but can not log in via virgin so there appears to be a duel log in capability indicating the primary email ntlworld.com is not on the virgin main server but perhaps on an auxiliary server? All email can be dangerous but the virgin email with old primary ntlworld.com address's is probably more risky now compared to gmail, outlook or even virginmedia.com so the email address you are stuck with determines the risk, some more risky than others due to spam distribution lists and hacking of old address's ntlworld.com , so best to ditch them as virgin are not capable or refuse to assist when customers request an email change they just refuse  point blanc. Hope members are fully aware of this now. I no longer use my ntlworld.com email address but also no longer read the emails, bur prefer to remain in control of the email as I am forced to keep it by virginmedia without any choice in the matter, but it may be better than allowing virgin to enable spammers to get hold of the old address's -keep in control best option or only option in circumstances.It is common policy for all email providers to recycle email address's and make available after a  period, the same as mobile phone numbers so one has to be careful what accounts are linked to them in the eventuality of disposing of either email or phone number, especially if linked to banking security etc.