Scam tactic still active

In a previous post I already warned you about New scam/phishing tactics .

Recently I received a similar email, telling me my Google Earth boarding pass is ready.

Apparently the same guys are back trying their tactic once again.

The subject of the email was

Google Earth Enhancement: Your Boarding Pass is Ready

Email from 'The Earth Team'

Banner urging you to download the 2011 version

The domain where you can 'buy' Google Earth is listed below. Note it might still be active, so be careful with the link(s).

hxxp://earth-online-locations.com

Result: 1/17 (6 %)

Domain Hash: 080a81b600bddf891a7b473e5958ab9f

URLVoid

VirusTotal

Conclusion

Basically the same as in my previous post. Simply delete the email and don't look back.

If you really want to download Google Earth, you can download it directly (and for free) from http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

New scam/phishing tactics

Recently I've seen some new scam/phishing tactics rising to the surface:

Email inviting you to download the newest PDF reader



Email inviting you to download Google Earth


Basically they just want you to pay for a product you can download for free. This time it's Adobe PDF Reader and Google Earth that are being targeted.

Be alerted when you receive an email with subjects like:

New 2010 Version for Google Earth
Update to PDF Reader 2010 for Windows‏
Get more out of Google Earth‏
New PDF Reader with Activation Code‏
Update your PDF Reader for Windows‏

Do not click on any of the links, and don't be fooled if the URL doesn't look 'funny'.

They might use URL shortener services such as bit.ly or tinyurl.com to hide the real URL.

If you are really interested in any of the forementioned applications, go to the original site and download it *for free ;)* from their website.

Screenshot of the 'PDF' website



Screenshot of the 'Google Earth' website


Conclusion

The conclusion is pretty simple: delete these emails and never reply on them !
If you are unsure if the email is legit or not, I would delete it anyway.
For instance: Google will not email you with a request to download their Google Earth application and pay for it.

You can always use URLvoid and VirusTotal URL scanners as a reference.

Be safe people, and don't fall for these tricks.