New Software Scam Worry For Insurers, Agents
NU Online News Service, Jan. 7, 1:41 p.m. EST?Insurers and agents who get incredible e-mail software deals are urged to beware of potential scams.[@@]
According to Scotts Valley, Calif.-based SurfControl, a Web and e-mail filtering company, the newest spam scams carry subject lines such as "WinXP, Office, Autodesk, Adobe OEM Christmas Sale." The spam is designed to entice online shoppers to click through to basic Web sites that offer the latest "OEM" computer software on CDs, at rock bottom prices–sometimes as low as $25, the company noted.
The new spam software is labeled "OEM" to appeal to both businesses and sophisticated consumers of such popular products as Microsoft Office suite and Adobe Photoshop, which normally retail for $200 or more, said SurfControl. The OEM label implies that the software is the real thing, however, the offers are questionable, according to Susan Larson, SurfControl's vice president of Global Content, because "software publishers typically don't license their software for OEM resale unless it's part of a system bundle, and prices are just too good to be true."
Ms. Larson also noted that software piracy is common overseas and the offers do not include the manufacturer's packaging, manuals or customer support, making it difficult to check authenticity.
SurfControl, which said it monitors and tracks global spam trends, first noticed the new computer software spam in October, but it accounted for only one percent of spam messages. The company noted that the OEM software spam increased dramatically–by four times–at the end of November. By December, the OEM software spam represented five percent of all spam, or one in every 20 spam e-mails reviewed by the company's Global Content team.
According to SurfControl, common business-to-business spam market pitches are for Microsoft XP Corporate Edition, Microsoft Money 2004 Deluxe, .Net 2003 Enterprise, and Microsoft Windows Server at prices ranging from $45 to $99, several hundred dollars below typical retail costs.
"While some of these offers may be legitimate software, the majority look highly suspicious, and customers may be purchasing something that isn't what they expected," Ms. Larson warned.
The company said key indicators of a scam are suspicious-looking Web sites that: use anonymous domain hosting services, lack sufficient contact information or company history or background to assist in verifying the offer, lack any information about security or encryption to assure that personal financial information is kept confidential, and lack privacy policies and return policies.
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