Scammers are betting you don't know a "vv" from a "w"

Posted Jul 31st 2007 9:20AM by Elizabeth Harper

Scammers never stop trying, do they? They're always out there coming up with new and interesting ways to part players from their World of Warcraft accounts. Most recently, a European scam has set itself up by registering the domain www.vvovv-europe.com (currently, it's just redirecting to the main page), as opposed to the genuine EU site, www.wow-europe.com. (It shouldn't surprise us, then, that there's also a www.vvorldofvvarcraft.com -- but it hasn't been spotting using its domain for e-mail scams.) That's right, they've replaced the w in the authentic domain with a pair of v's. And while the difference is painfully obvious on a site like WoW Insider that uses a serif-style font, most browsers use a sans-serif style for their address bar in which the two v's look almost exactly like a w. (They're a bit wider than a normal w, but it's not a difference you're likely to notice at a glance.) So be extra careful of incoming e-mails that might try to convince you an e-mail from vvovv-europe is the real thing -- and remember, Blizzard will never ask you for your password!

[Thanks, Jon]

Tags: eu, scam, scammers, world of warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow, wow-europe

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-31-2007 @ 9:39AM

Joseph said...

What will they think of next?

7-31-2007 @ 9:45AM

Franky said...

That actually seems like it could be a rather dangerous/successful scam. Just glancing at links, I doubt anyone would notice the 'v v'. I guess it depends how well the scammers can duplicate the WoW main page and if they can actually fool someone.

7-31-2007 @ 9:47AM

jorelius said...

May I please direct you all to a great warcraft blog:
http://www.vvovvinsider.com/
(I dont actually have it but hey, someone might have fun camping it)

7-31-2007 @ 9:49AM

Jellodyne said...

Dude, Blizzard asks me for my password every time I log in. :P

7-31-2007 @ 10:01AM

Nick S said...

it'd be rather clever of the account thieves to rip out the code for the WoW front-end and make a little password-stealing program. drop an icon on the desktop in the manner of innumerable malware programs, then when people double-click on what looks like WoW, they get the same login screen as always... except that it sends their username and password to the scammer.

not 100% foolproof, but i'll bet you'd get a few accounts that way.

7-31-2007 @ 10:07AM

Tiago said...

@5: If they are capable of putting an icon on your desktop, your computer has been compromised.

They could just as easily put a keylogger in and save themselves the elaborate fake login screen.

7-31-2007 @ 10:08AM

schlomo said...

I guess it's Macs FTW in this case :D

7-31-2007 @ 11:03AM

Erica Olson said...

Perhaps they're not scammers at all. Perhaps they're Transylvanian and it's their dialect.

7-31-2007 @ 1:15PM

Todd said...

@7 (schlomo). I'm sorry, but how does owning a Mac prevent you from clicking on a link or entering your personal information on a website?

This is not intended as a flame against Macs or Mac owners.

7-31-2007 @ 2:34PM

Kahja said...

I hate places with no serifs. It's just not fun.

7-31-2007 @ 9:16PM

RogueJedi86 said...

Maybe Blizz should use a few thousand of our subscription dollars to buy up these domain names so their customers are protected. I wouldn't mind.

8-01-2007 @ 9:20AM

Nick S said...

@6 But the fake login screen is so much cooler!

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