Anyone else get an e-mail like this?

1. 67

   Anti-Valentineposted 15 years ago

   I checked my e-mail today, and saw an one that had this heading: Get More Traffic with ZAR1000 FREE Advertising on Google.
   
   I was suspicious, and thought I would post it here.
   
   "Get more traffic to your website
   
   Dear Google Analytics User,
   
   As a Google Analytics customer, we know that you care about the quality of traffic coming to your website, so we wanted to introduce you to Google AdWords. AdWords works by placing targeted advertising alongside Google's search results.
   
   To help you get started with AdWords we've sent you a voucher for ZAR1000 of Google AdWords advertising. The voucher is risk and commitment free, so start advertising today and drive more traffic to your website.
   Grow your business with Google Analytics & AdWords:
   
       * Easy to use Start advertising in minutes with our easy to use online tools.
       * Targeted traffic Your ads appear next to relevant search results and on websites in the Google Ad network, meaning people searching for products relating to your business will see your ad.
       * Pay only for results With AdWords, you're only charged when a user clicks on your ad. So if your ad is displayed but isn't clicked on, you'll pay nothing.
       * Powerful reporting Analytics is fully integrated with AdWords, so you'll have complete transparency into the performance of your campaigns and can track your return-on-investment down to individual keywords.
   
   How to claim your ZAR1000 of free advertising on Google
   
      1. Visit http://adwords.google.co.za
      2. Complete the sign-up process
      3. Once you've completed the sign-up process, you'll receive a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email, and when prompted, enter the voucher code below into the 'Billing Preferences' section of your AdWords account. Your ads will be live almost instantly.
   
   Welcome to Google AdWords!
   
   Google Analytics Team"
   
   the e-mail address that came with it was: analytics-noreply@google.com
   
   I've gotten one from google before, which was: "Google AdSense"
   
   I mean, free advertising with AdWords? Come on. There's numerous scams going around lately, and I'm highly skeptical.
   
   Sorry for links, you can do what you want with them.

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      Shadows and lightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The google email address does kind of sound real, but the rest I don't know about. Google doesn't give shit away for free. Hell, they hardly pay us.

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2. 69

   diplessposted 15 years ago

   could be a phishing scam be careful!

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3. 67

   Anti-Valentineposted 15 years ago

   I'm thinking exactly the same thing, and I haven't done anything. I've copied the e-mail contents and left it alone.
   
   If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

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4. 58

   Mrvoodooposted 15 years ago

   Google do genuinely offer free credit every now and then to new users, I've had free ad credit from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook, Bidvertiser, etc.  Have tried them all.
   
   But as Dipless said, go careful, check for proper URL's etc. before signing up or giving out any info.

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5. 69

   diplessposted 15 years ago

   I'm so glad someone else thinks like that I have just posted exactly the same thing on another thread about working from home.. I have to deal with these kind of e-mails everyday in my IT job easiest way is to check the link of the hyperlinks if they don't go to google adwords official site then don't use it.

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   1. 58

      Mrvoodooposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly, always be careful.
      
      There was one over on the eBay partner network forums that took loads of peoples details a few months back, I can't remember the name of the exact URL used but the phisher had registered a domain that used something like 'r n' instead of an 'm' in the middle of the URL to make it look like the genuine site. (rn look just like an m close together in a URL, or close enough anyway) and the site itself was pretty much an exact copy of the real site.

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6. 67

   Anti-Valentineposted 15 years ago

   Well this one reads "http://adwords.google.co.za." Last time I checked it was .com.

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7. 70

   Candie Vposted 15 years ago

   I got one too, but haven't looked to much at it.. I have a mountain of hubs to read! 
   
   You be the guinnie piggie and tell us what you discover!

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   1. 67

      Anti-Valentineposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Hell no! This little piggie ain't gonna fall for no traps by the big bad wolf!

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      1. 70

         Candie Vposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         But he's a very friendly wolf!! He took good care of my gramma, I think he even took her on a vacation.. or so his note said, they've been gone for a couple of weeks now.  I expect she'll send me a post card soon.  She didn't think I should open and follow thru with that email either.

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8. 69

   diplessposted 15 years ago

   it is so i would sugest avoiding or log into the legitimate account through your normal route and see if there are any offers in there.

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9. 69

   diplessposted 15 years ago

   Social Engineering is probably now the biggest security concern on networks..including the internet, just because it is hard to protect against!
   
   This is a little off topic but still along same lines
   
   At work a very senior employee at work got a call from what he thought was out IT department and that they required his Username and password to reset his account, he gave it over even though he knew better. This password was then used to enter our Network and comprimise data and destroy documents.

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10. 67

    BristolBoyposted 15 years ago

    I recieved a similar email from what I believe to be Adwords, however I didn't take it up.  I believe Google do do such genuine offers, to try and get people to sign up and then get hooked.  They probably hope that you either continue with the system after being so impressed or forget to cancel your account after the freebie period is up and end up paying.

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    1. 58

       Mrvoodooposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Exactly, as with all offers, it's not out of kindness they give you free money, they expect to make more from you in the long run.
       
       Google tend to offer new users about £40 UK, but look around and you can find codes and offers for all of them, I got over £300 worth of free ads on Facebook when they first started running ads.
       
       I use the free ads and move on, have never made a huge amount of money from them, so wouldn't pay for it, free traffic is the way to go unless you really know what you're doing with converting paid traffic, and I don't, lol.

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       1. 59

          Shadows and lightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

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    2. 67

       Anti-Valentineposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Yeah, thought so too. Anyway, I haven't got a problem with traffic like the e-mail says, so I don't need it. I'm happy...sort of.
       
       I don't want to have yet another account to manage anyway.

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11. 58

    Mrvoodooposted 15 years ago

    Yep, I know at least two people who got caught out by the whole 'I'm from your bank, just phoning to check your details' scam. 
    
    Both for all means and purposes otherwise intelligent people who shouldn't have fallen for it, but caught off guard and in a rush they didn't think.

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12. 69

    diplessposted 15 years ago

    lol Glad to hear it

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13. 74

    Eaglekiwiposted 15 years ago

    Im lazy , I only open mail from family or sites I know ,like really .
    If it was Goggle I think they would send any message via your goggle account , just my opinion.

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    1. 67

       Anti-Valentineposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       "Goggle"?
       
       Yeah, what you say makes sense- like those optimization messages...

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          Eaglekiwiposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          Yep those messages , also fire them off a email if ya concerned , good luck

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14. 58

    Mrvoodooposted 15 years ago

    I got $100,000.00 worth of free credit at Hophunt.com, only $99,999 left to go, the search engine gets very little traffic.  But should it ever take over Google, I'm sorted.

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15. 69

    diplessposted 15 years ago

    LOL How nice Who knows what the future holds humans are fickle characters maybe you should start a revolution against Google towards the Hophunt clan so you can claim your prize

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16. 92

    Rochelle Frankposted 15 years ago

    I would be careful-- but then I am so Dang careful that I blew up my first payout credit from Amazon of about $15, because I thought it was a scam.

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17. 62

    HeXiSposted 15 years ago

    ok this is how you handel "ANY" email from a site you THINK you know..  you open your browser and you type login to your account as usual "never click links in emails!" unless you just signed up with an account and it's your account activation email.
    
    if there is no notification in your account on the site you KNOW is right then ignore it.
    
    if you'r not cmfortable with this type in your site url manualy from memory not whats written in the email. and check their "how to avoid scams" page almost every site has one.. look for the official https://google.com   or w/e site it is.. but uausualy i dot the first thing.. i go where i know im going by doing things manualy and checking my account.. asl usualy it wont say " "account holder"
    it will youre user name or your name

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