If you have a website, then you probably receive spam SEO emails on a regular basis by scammers trying to make a quick buck, or worse yet doing something malicious.

Naturally, when I receive a spam email it’s mild annoyance and I just delete it. But occasionally, a newer client will forward a spam email that claims their website isn’t as good as it should be. And sometimes even ask “is this something I should be worried about” I can’t blame the client if they want to know what’s going on, after all – it’s their business and their livelihood and anyone would be concerned if they kept getting emails saying their website could do better.

You’ve probably received emails like these:

“I found your details on Google.com and I have looked at your website and realized your website has great design but your website ranking is not good on all search engines Google, AOL, Yahoo and Bing.

Do you want more targeted visitors on your website? We can place your website on Google’s 1st Page. Yahoo, AOL, Bing. Etc. “

Or…

There are web development companies all over the world – legitimate web design companies!

A lot of spam emails claim they are part of a large group of professionals from India and they want to design your next website. Sometimes these are start-ups or inexperienced tennagers, but sometimes these are malicious emails just trying to get your information and take your money.

You’ve probably seem an email like this:

Hello,

I sincerely hope you are doing well.

We are India based Web Design company with primary focus on SEO based Website Design & Development (PHP development).

We have a dedicated team of 150 professional designers, developers and SEO specialists; especially for Graphic/Flash/3D designing.

We can assure you of getting quality works. Most firms overseas have achieved a significant amount of savings by outsourcing either part of, or their entire work to us in India.

We would like you to give us an opportunity to work with your company and AMAZE you with our service.
Please let us know in case you are interested.

Kind Regards,

Damita

They always use an outlook email or Google email address (Free email accounts). Never a full name, phone number, company name, address, or website.

Some spammers will crawl the web to collect email addresses so they can sell them to other spammers. An email address once posted on the web is likely to be spammed forever, even if was removed from the web.

Lately a lot of us are getting bombarded with unsolicited and poorly written emails from Eric Jones. 

They usually come through a website contact form, and even adding Google reCAPTCHA to the form doesn’t seem to help. Every email is sent from a different IP addresses, so we can’t block the IP. 

A typical email looks like this:

First name: Eric
Last name: Jones
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: 555-555-1212

Share your experience or ask a question: Hi, my name is Eric and I’m betting you’d like your website to generate more leads.

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And now that you’ve got their phone number, our new SMS Text With Lead feature enables you to start a text (SMS) conversation – answer questions, provide more info, and close a deal that way.

If they don’t take you up on your offer then, just follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.

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Obviously, that alias “Eric Jones” is fake. So who is hiding behind this mass spam campaign?

In the past few days I’ve had clients forward phishing scam emails to me that claim they have copyrighted images on their websites.

The emails come through website contact forms and ask you to click on a link to view a document which shows which images have been used without permission.

Remember – never click on links in any email sent from someone you do not know. If these links are clicked on they will download viruses, malware, etc. to your computer. Then the hacker may be able to hold your device hostage and demand some kind of payment, obtain access to your computer and compromise accounts like email and banking, or Inject viruses that infect your computer and use it to launch attacks against others.

The emails come from emails like Melgallery654@gmail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. etc. with names like Mel Johnson, Mel Stone, Meleeora, Mellie, Melina, Melissa or even Melibella.

They claim to be a qualified photographer, licensed illustrator, certified illustrator, professional photographer, licensed photographer or illustrator etc…

Here is one of the emails:

This is Meleeora and I am a professional photographer.

I was puzzled, putting it lightly, when I came across my images at your website. If you use a copyrighted image without an owner's license, you must be aware that you could be sued by the copyright owner.

It's against the law to use stolen images and it's so wicked!

Here is this document with the links to my images you used at [Clients website] and my earlier publications to obtain the evidence of my copyrights.

Download it right now and check this out for yourself: [long link starting with https://sites.google.com/view]

This morning (March 23, 2021) 2 different clients of mine received a bogus invoice via FAX (Yes I said FAX) from a company called Web Envy.

The invoices were for SEO/Link Building services for $98.57.

This is the first time I've ever seen one of these letters being sent via fax. And normally there is some fine print saying “this is not a bill, etc. But this came through like a regular invoice.

Supposedly this company is in Texas but the number the FAX was sent from was (239) 237-1702 which is a Florida number. A quick search on this phone number showed many complaints about this number with some people stating when they received the fax via eFax the PDF’s contained Malware.

Apparently, the phone number (239) 237-1702 also sends bogus faxes claiming to be from GoDaddy, CareMax Pharmacy and even Amazon as well.

When I checked the Web Envy domain (webenvysolutions.com), it showed that it was just registered for the first time on March 7 2021 - so this website has only been up 16 days - not since 2013 like they claim.

The strange thing is that the website has quite a few pages – and it appears the companies and projects are real companies. If you go to the webenvysolutions.com website – it is very generic and the social media links on their site don't go anywhere because they have no social media presence at all.

Also the internet archive has no history of this company / website. When I do a search for Texas businesses and DBA's - there is no company called Web Envy Solutions. When I type in their business address Google maps shows a rundown strip Mall where half of the offices are empty.

So, is this a legit company that recently changed it’s name and got a new domain, or did a unscrupulous company buy this website and is now using it to scam people?

But then we are back to the Fake bills and malicious faxes. If a hacker is sending these out – why do they go to the Web Envy business address and use it’s phone number?

Last but not least – When I call the Web Envy phone number (1-888-236-2606) I get a recording saying this number is no longer in service.

So if you get a FAX from this scam company - toss this in the trash. If you open a PDF with one of these invoices – scan your computer for Malware immediately.

Since the pandemic started there has been a noticeable increase in phishing emails, scams, and different types of fraud.

Recently phishing attacks look even more like they came from a specific company. This is called “spearfishing,” and hackers might pose as your bank, credit card company, or a site like Dropbox or PayPal. Generally, targets receive an email that looks as if it came from a legitimate business. You might be prompted to click on a link to “verify account details” and from there, malware is installed on your device.

Where you once had to download a file or an app to get malware, it’s now a matter of clicking a link. These kind of fileless attacks are also more difficult to detect, as most antivirus programs only scan your hard drive.

Here are some examples of emails you may receive:

What to Do if you receive one of these emails

• Never click a link in an email that comes from a bank, government agency, or commercial institution. If the link comes from a company, check your account by going directly to the website by typing the URL into the navigation bar manually.
• Check at least once a week for updates for your computer’s security software, and run scans several times a week. I personally have used Webroot for the last 8 years – it runs in the background and automatically scans for viruses. I have been very happy with it. Also Malwarebytes is a great program that removes malware and spyware.
• If you get an unsolicited call from someone who claims to be a tech support provider for your computer or software – hang up!
• If you get any warning message on your computer – read it carefully. Bad grammar or misspelled words are telltale signs of a false warning.
• If you get a fake virus alert message – just shut down your browser. You can do this on a Windows PC by pressing Control-Alt-Delete and bringing up the Task Manager. On a Mac, press the Option, Command, and Esc (Escape) keys, or use the Force Quit command from the Apple menu.
• Never allow someone who calls you out of the blue to access your computer remotely.
• Never rely on caller ID to determine if a caller is on the level. Scammers can make it appear as if they’re calling from a legitimate number.
• Never give your computer username or any account passwords to someone over the phone.
• Never provide financial information to someone who calls a few days, weeks or months after you've made a tech support purchase and asks if you were satisfied — it's probably a “refund scam.” If you say “No,” the caller will ask for bank or credit card information, ostensibly to deposit a refund in your account but actually to steal from you.