I just saw this attack for the second time tonite. I dont know if this is exactly related to the first, but its worth mentioning. I'll update as more info comes in.
There are several revenge websites that you can go to and subscribe your victim to thousands of mailing lists. You input their address and boom. Minutes later they are getting hundreds of messages per hour and filling the inbox to the brink, making it unusable. Some of the subscriptions will time out if you dont ack them, but other less sophisticated mailing lists will dutifully send you emails regularly just for signing up. (the only real fix for this attack is to close that mailbox and get a new email address)
But beware, it can be used as a smokescreen A coworker had this happen last year as she was closing on her new dream house. She ended up losing the house due to what happened. (the hack impacted her credit score and spooked the lender who pulled out of the deal)
Apparently someone stole her ID and hacked her credit accounts and online banking details as well as her email password. Right before the attack, they used one of these websites to mask the illegal activity. So interspersed among the hundreds of messages per hour, she missed alerts from her bank, and other confirmations that things were going on with their financial identity. Things like fraud alerts from the credit cards, new online banking payees, outbound money transfer alerts, password reset requests, and other nefarious activity. The hackers also drained their bank accounts in the process. As I recall it took her a day or two to actually find the alerts from her financial institutions, and the first hint of real trouble was a declined debit card transaction because the account had been emptied.
Like I said tonights may be just a P-O'd enemy. But if you suddenly get subscribed to thousands of mailing lists, I would recommend IMMEDIATELY checking all of your financial accounts for any suspicious activity, as well as pulling credit reports to look for anything out of place. (and possibly doing a credit freeze to prevent any new accounts) If its NOT just an enemy, it could be masking a MUUUUUCH bigger financial problem for you.
Good luck, and may this never happen to you.
There are several revenge websites that you can go to and subscribe your victim to thousands of mailing lists. You input their address and boom. Minutes later they are getting hundreds of messages per hour and filling the inbox to the brink, making it unusable. Some of the subscriptions will time out if you dont ack them, but other less sophisticated mailing lists will dutifully send you emails regularly just for signing up. (the only real fix for this attack is to close that mailbox and get a new email address)
But beware, it can be used as a smokescreen A coworker had this happen last year as she was closing on her new dream house. She ended up losing the house due to what happened. (the hack impacted her credit score and spooked the lender who pulled out of the deal)
Apparently someone stole her ID and hacked her credit accounts and online banking details as well as her email password. Right before the attack, they used one of these websites to mask the illegal activity. So interspersed among the hundreds of messages per hour, she missed alerts from her bank, and other confirmations that things were going on with their financial identity. Things like fraud alerts from the credit cards, new online banking payees, outbound money transfer alerts, password reset requests, and other nefarious activity. The hackers also drained their bank accounts in the process. As I recall it took her a day or two to actually find the alerts from her financial institutions, and the first hint of real trouble was a declined debit card transaction because the account had been emptied.
Like I said tonights may be just a P-O'd enemy. But if you suddenly get subscribed to thousands of mailing lists, I would recommend IMMEDIATELY checking all of your financial accounts for any suspicious activity, as well as pulling credit reports to look for anything out of place. (and possibly doing a credit freeze to prevent any new accounts) If its NOT just an enemy, it could be masking a MUUUUUCH bigger financial problem for you.
Good luck, and may this never happen to you.
