Guild Wars 2

I’m highly doubtful that this is a legitimate message from an actual game master (GM) but it still gave me pause and I feel bringing it to light was more important that being dismissive.
(also not entirely sure where this should go other than an in-game report, but as a IT professional it has all the signs of a phishing attempt and letting the general public know seems the smart move)

Today I logged in to find the attached message waiting for me in my mail box. And while I am absolutely sure this is a scamming attempt that is entierly transparent (the whole “this message has been sent by another player” at the bottom would be the dead give away)

So if you find a message like this, don’t do anything with the link, just report the sender and delete it.

I should also point out the link that’s included looks like it has embedded terminal line commands (the -mgkk part looks like it would be passed to the site to get around your computer’s defenses) so don’t even test the link to see how bad it might be.

Read the bottom of the message by the little yellow warning sign.

No, it is in fact not legit.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Common-Phishing-Attempts-E-mails-In-Game-Mails/4980574

I love how nearly every phishing attempt has at least one obvious grammatical or spelling error.

This particular one would make an English teacher’s head explode.

Substance E.4852:

I love how nearly every phishing attempt has at least one obvious grammatical or spelling error.

This particular one would make an English teacher’s head explode.

What’s odd is that it is the same text that has been used in this scam before … only with errors added in. I suspect that some other phisher with even less command of English copied it. Probably they don’t use roman letters and bungled it up as much as I would trying to copy down a page of kanji or other ideograms without knowing the import of the exact angle of a brush stroke.

OP, check the sticky at the top of this forum, it talks about this scam.

It seems odd to me that so many players see the bottom disclaimer, ‘This mail was sent by another player. It is not from the GW2 Team.’, and still post and question if it is legitimate. What more can the Devs do to assure others these are just scams?

I’m not trying to pick on you, OP (because many others have noted the bottom disclaimer, and still posted, questioning it), but as a self-professed IT professional, what more can the mail state that would convince you, beyond a doubt, that it is a phishing attempt?

And, if you suspect it is a ‘scam’, why post the nefarious link, where others may visit?

Top of this forum has a red stickied post: Alert: in game mail scams for those who want to read more about it.

It would be a generic letter, saved and sent out all the same. There would be no misspelled words if it was sent by a GM.

I bet it works, though. People read this crap and freak out, and immediately go to the site and give away all their info.

Substance E.4852:

I love how nearly every phishing attempt has at least one obvious grammatical or spelling error.

This particular one would make an English teacher’s head explode.

Some scammers have a reason for that. They don’t want to waste their time with someone who falls for the opening message then wises up later. They want anyone who falls for the opening to fall for the rest of the scam. So they make the first part stupid, with the intent that anyone who is dumb enough to fall for it is dumb enough to fall for the rest.

It might have a side benefit of getting people who enjoy trolling scammers to think that “nobody would ever fall for that” and leave that scammer alone.

Snoring Sleepwalker.9073:

Substance E.4852:

I love how nearly every phishing attempt has at least one obvious grammatical or spelling error.

This particular one would make an English teacher’s head explode.

Some scammers have a reason for that. They don’t want to waste their time with someone who falls for the opening message then wises up later. They want anyone who falls for the opening to fall for the rest of the scam. So they make the first part stupid, with the intent that anyone who is dumb enough to fall for it is dumb enough to fall for the rest.

It might have a side benefit of getting people who enjoy trolling scammers to think that “nobody would ever fall for that” and leave that scammer alone.

That sounded absurd at first… but then I started thinking about it, and it’s probably right.

Don’t forget to report this mailer before you delete the mail.

That guys will get banned instead.

Dasenthal.6520:

Snoring Sleepwalker.9073:

Substance E.4852:

I love how nearly every phishing attempt has at least one obvious grammatical or spelling error.

This particular one would make an English teacher’s head explode.

Some scammers have a reason for that. They don’t want to waste their time with someone who falls for the opening message then wises up later. They want anyone who falls for the opening to fall for the rest of the scam. So they make the first part stupid, with the intent that anyone who is dumb enough to fall for it is dumb enough to fall for the rest.

It might have a side benefit of getting people who enjoy trolling scammers to think that “nobody would ever fall for that” and leave that scammer alone.

That sounded absurd at first… but then I started thinking about it, and it’s probably right.

Yeah. I’ve read that theory before as to why such bad grammar on so many phishing attempts. It sort of make sense when you think about it. Even though they are thieves they are still a business doing it for money. Doing whatever they need to weed out those who waste their time and their money, either deliberately or not, is in any business’ best interest. Whether they are a legal or not, they still have costs and income.

I get this ingame mail many times.Just delete it and report it.