An online retailer has requested me to provide my username and password in an email. What’s unusual is that their web address starts with numbers instead of letters. Maybe it’s a new thing to have numbers? What should I do?
2007-02-14 08:53:26 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
Do not email them your information.
This is what is known as phishing. An official looking email is sent to you asking you for information so they can abuse it.
The fact that you caught that the address starts with numbers is a good thing. Anytime anyone asks you to provide information through email, red flags should pop up.
Your best bet would be to forward the email to the companies customer service department.
Never give information over email. Never enter your username and password on a page that you were linked to. Only enter your username and password on a site that you went directly to (I.E. you opened internet explorer, typed www.yahoo.com. Then it's ok)
2007-02-14 09:00:50 · answer #1 · answered by Bjorn 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would suggest you either call them, or visit the website address you know to be genuine, look for the contact email and forward this to them.
No retailer will ever want you to provide your password. It is either stored on their servers for when you forget it (my usual trick!) but so that they can not access it, or some don't even store them, if you forget you have to start again!
It is such a common scam now that most larger companies (particularly finance companies) have an email address dedicated solely to phishing.
As someone pointed out it could be an ip address, but even then I wouldn't suggest you give them your password.
If you are being asked to log on to change information, again I would go to the site you would normally visit and log on in the usual way. If there is anything that needs to be changed there would be a general message when you log in or a notice somewhere on the site.
Hope that helps a bit?
2007-02-14 09:07:42 · answer #2 · answered by cymraesgwyllt 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never supply your user name and password when asked to from an email. This is almost always a scam. Open an new browser window and enter the companies website name by hand.
2007-02-14 08:56:54 · answer #3 · answered by AJ_Pegasus 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First responder is correct. But a numerical address (IP address) could be legitimate, if it looks something like 179.81.23.14 (I have made this up out of whole cloth -- it is not a real address). This could arise if the vendor is using a separate server, with its own IP address, for mail communications, as opposed to the URL name which could map to a different IP address.
2007-02-14 09:00:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Agree with Clancy. Please post back with some more info about the retailer, including the web address. You can add them as additional details to this question, so you don't need to spend another 5 points on a new question.
2007-02-14 08:59:25 · answer #5 · answered by Navigator 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Never give your user name and password to a company in an email if they ask for it. Sounds like a scam. I would email them and tell them that you do no feel safe giving out that information.
2007-02-14 09:03:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Post the web address here and let us check it out. Phishers will frequently create scam web pages that resemble well-known online merchants in an effort to steal your information.
2007-02-14 08:56:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
because this is how is set up on the web server where the specific site lives. cheers!
2016-05-23 23:23:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They might be a scammer.
2007-02-14 09:02:48 · answer #9 · answered by rodjared 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋