Can a virus infect you with a non-attached file email?

bbwannabe · 21-03-2008, 19:54

Long story short, got an email in gmail account and opened it. It has no file attachment so I wasn't worried about viruses and the like. Then in outlook express, i've got Delivery Status Notification (Failure) emails and it looks like this email got sent to multiple people but I have no idea how this happened. Was it naive to think it was simply from reading this email? or could it have been I was hacked. I can't access hotmail or one of my gmail accounts anymore

**Rob** · 21-03-2008, 20:10

Could there have been a link embedded in the email that say opened a file from a webserver somewhere.

If you suspect you may have a virus, do a scan from one of the reputable online scanners from say trend housecall, panda security or similar.

bbwannabe · 21-03-2008, 20:20

This is the source for the email:

Code:

Hi John,

How you doing today ?, hope all is well at your end ? .I am presently in
Malaysia for a business transaction and i am in a really bad situation right
now, i was just  discharged  from the hospital, i got beaten up by some
thieves who took away my bag where i  had all my money, cards and all my
documents . I don't have money on me anymore and i  need you to help me
raise  some money to pay my hotel bills and to get back home, I promise to
pay you back as soon as i get back, I am owing an hotel bill of  $1500 and i
also need some money to feed on . I have been asked to pay up within 48hrs
or they  will have to seize my luggage and hand me over to the Hotel
Management,i hope you  understand how much i need your help......I will
appreciate what  ever you can afford to send to me for now and i promise to
pay back, I am counting on you, Please let this be between me and you , i
will explain everything to you when i get back .You can  get money sent to
my me via western union,there is a western union outlet close to the
hotel.The hotel manager will  be picking up the money on my behalf because i
don't have any Id with me, this is the information  you will be needing to
get the money sent to me via western union money transfer:


Name: Rabah  Arif  Khan
Address : 102 Serdang-Kajang Highway
City : Kuala Lumpur
Zipcode :43000
Country : Malaysia



After you have sent the money you are to send me the transfer details
below,because i will be needing it to pick up the money:



1. name and address used in sending the money
2. exact amount sent
3. mtcn number ( 10 digit number )



I am counting on you, Hope to read from you soon . Thanks alot

------=_Part_3462_20430405.1206108124246
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Disposition: inline

Hi John,&nbsp; <br><br>How you doing today ?, hope all is well at your end =
? .I am presently in Malaysia for a business transaction and i am in a real=
ly bad situation right now, i was just&nbsp; discharged&nbsp; from the hosp=
ital, i got beaten up by some thieves who took away my bag where i&nbsp; ha=
d all my money, cards and all my documents . I don't have money on me a=
nymore and i&nbsp; need you to help me raise&nbsp; some money to pay my hot=
el bills and to get back home, I promise to pay you back as soon as i get b=
ack, I am owing an hotel bill of&nbsp; $1500 and i also need some money to =
feed on . I have been asked to pay up within 48hrs or they&nbsp; will have =
to seize my luggage and hand me over to the Hotel Management,i hope you&nbs=
p; understand how much i need your help......I will appreciate what&nbsp; e=
ver you can afford to send to me for now and i promise to pay back, I am co=
unting on you, Please let this be between me and you , i will explain every=
thing to you when i get back .You can&nbsp; get money sent to my me via wes=
tern union,there is a western union outlet close to the hotel.The hotel man=
ager will&nbsp; be picking up the money on my behalf because i don't ha=
ve any Id with me, this is the information&nbsp; you will be needing to get=
 the money sent to me via western union money transfer:<br>
<br><br>Name: Rabah&nbsp; Arif&nbsp; Khan<br>Address : 102 Serdang-Kajang H=
ighway<br>City : Kuala Lumpur<br>Zipcode :43000<br>Country : Malaysia<br><b=
r><br><br>After you have sent the money you are to send me the transfer det=
ails below,because i will be needing it to pick up the money:<br>
<br><br><br>1. name and address used in sending the money<br>2. exact amoun=
t sent<br>3. mtcn number ( 10 digit number )<br><br><br><br>I am counting o=
n you, Hope to read from you soon . Thanks alot

------=_Part_3462_20430405.1206108124246--

This is the first email i received. My hotmail one is different as my name is removed and it does have a link.

Code:

Hope to read from you soon . Thanks alot<br><=
br /><hr />A prize an hour, 24 hours a day. <a href=3D'http://www.dodgylookingwebsitename.com
=20
' target=3D'_new'>Try Big Snap now!</a></body>

Currently running norton, but if that shows no virus on computer i'll use the online scanners you suggested.

punky · 21-03-2008, 20:35

If that Try Big Snap link is this one: http://www.bigsnapsearch.com then its legit. Its a promotion between Microsoft's Live and Virgin. The missus has already won £200 worth of prizes there.

**Rob** · 21-03-2008, 20:36

Nope it wasn't quite that - there was a dodgy looking "=" in the middle of the site name

Cerberus · 21-03-2008, 20:46

The general email looks like a scam email to me Gavin. As I mentioned earlier on a wee site called 419 Eater. They thrive on this stuff and turn scammers into trophies.

Many scammers also use the Western Union as a means to get cash and some poor unfortunate people actually fall for it. However, I have never known a scammer to embed a virus or send a virus through an email. These scammers aren't that intelligent in all fairness.

There doesn't seem to be any issues with Gmail or Hotmail via a web browser.

Do as Rob has suggested above. Do an online scan or use Norton, AVG or whatever anti virus s/ware you have and see if it brings up anything. As a precaution, I would ask you to turn off system restore.

Right Click My Computer > Properties > System Restore and check Turn Off System Restore on all drives. You may need to re-boot.

If your anti virus picks up anything, then consult their website for instructions on how to remove.

bbwannabe · 21-03-2008, 20:48

Seeing as my hotmail account contact list was message and not my address book contacts which have considerably fewer listed, is it likely an account hack than a virus one?.

Has anyone had any luck with changing passwords for either gmail or hotmail. I tried to send the password to my gmail account to a secondary email address (prob my hotmail account) but it shows it as sent to a yahoo.com account when i don't have one. *worried*

Odd thing with hotmail is, i can't access it via site, but outlook express can with no problems even though i'm using the same password.

punky · 21-03-2008, 20:49

Yeah but the link is the normal advert that gets stuck on the end of Hotmail e-mails.

bbwannabe · 21-03-2008, 21:18

What worries me is my gmail account is not accessible and i use googlecheckouts, so I'm worried about whether someone's going to go on a shopping spree.

---------- Post added at 21:06 ---------- Previous post was at 20:54 ----------

I've managed to find a yahoo email address when i changed my password for hotmail, does anyone know a yahoo link i can report this address to?

---------- Post added at 21:18 ---------- Previous post was at 21:06 ----------

Ok did a report on the email address to yahoo's abuse form. Hopefully if someone did hack into my account and was stupid enough to use their actual email address, then they'll get a good seeing to.