Zoom Video Communications Settlement - bogus?

[NutmegCT]

I used Zoom for meetings dozens of times during the COVID crisis.

Today I received an email titled:

Zoom Video Communications Settlement​

regarding the case Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Privacy Litigation, Case No. 3:20-cv-02155-LB.

I'm a bit dubious about the authenticity of the email.

Has anyone else recently received such an email?

Thanks.
Tom M.

 

[John Turney]

It's a real case, > GovInfo <, but that doesn't mean the email is authentic.

 

[Basil]

There is a Zoom settlement: > FTC Requires Zoom to Enhance its Security Practices as Part of Settlement <

and

Zoom reaches $85 mln settlement over user privacy, 'Zoombombing'

Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated users' privacy rights by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and letting hackers disrupt Zoom meetings in a practice called Zoombombing.

www.reuters.com

But that doesn't mean the email you got is legit (email address can be spoofed). I would contact Zoom directly and ask what you need to do to get the refund mentioned in the article.

 

[NutmegCT]

Thanks. I knew the case was legitimate, but the "click here for more info" where the case is named, would take you to a website with a domain in Montenegro.

hmmm

 

[Basil]

Yeah… hopefully you knew NOT to click the link!

 

[NutmegCT]

If I suddenly drop offline for a few months, you'll know I clicked the link.



A few of the "eccentricities" in the email -

Email: (the link isn't an email address or "mailto:" address.)

Ping or Tracert to the domain (in Montenegro) results in "The site can't be reached" or "This page isn't working".

Interesting that the "real" url (the one that says ZoomClassAction dot com) does go to the Zoom class action webpage, but if you click that link you don't go to the same website.

I wonder how often this type of situation occurs to folks who have to pay their bills by clicking on a link that says "Click here to pay your electric (or whatever) bill". If people just get notifications of "payment due" on their smartphones, do they actually check that the "click here to pay your bill" link goes where they think it goes?

oy

 

[Basil]

Email: (the link isn't an email address or "mailto:" address.)

If you highlight the from address or view message details, you should be able to see the originating address (bearing in mine it could be spoofed or faked)

 

[NutmegCT]

Righto. I see the path from origin server to gmail server, which looks ok, but spoofing is too easy these days.

Another coincidence ... I got that email about an hour after I registered for a Zoom webinar.

Think I'll alert the sponsor of the webinar.

 

[Basil]

I wonder how often this type of situation occurs to folks who have to pay their bills by clicking on a link that says "Click here to pay your electric (or whatever) bill". If people just get notifications of "payment due" on their smartphones, do they actually check that the "click here to pay your bill" link goes where they think it goes?

Best practices - don't click on links to do anything related to money. Go to the hectic company web site and log in directly from there. I get these kinds of fake emails every day. Drives me nuts!

 

[NutmegCT]

I'm lucky - only a few of these a month. I set up direct debit between my credit union and my creditors, so there's less chance of an interloper.

(I'm really steamed that so many companies now push you to "go paperless" - which makes things easier and cheaper for them, and the monthly emails saying "click here to pay your bill" makes it easier for us to be swindled.)

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else here got a similar message, as so many people have used Zoom in the last couple of years.

 

[Basil]

I'm lucky - only a few of these a month. I set up direct debit between my credit union and my creditors, so there's less chance of an interloper.

That's what I do for most of my bills too.

 

[John Turney]

That's what I do for most of my bills too.

Same here.

 

[Popeye]

Never click links, remove as many interlopers as possible. I’ll second these pieces of advice!

 

[AngliaGT]

Did you get one with "About your Amazon order"?

 

[DavidApp]

Got this type of e mail several times from our Cox Internet service. At least it climes to come from Cox. I think it is a scam.

David

 

[mikephillips]

So suspicious.... I'll work it out for you, just send all your credit card numbers to,

9999 Scamme Drive
Bogusville, NY 12345

 

[NutmegCT]

David's email reminds me of the regular emails I get from ebay, saying "Your selling account has been restricted. You still have not provided the information we requested. Please login to ebay, choose accounts, choose personal information, choose financial information, and enter the data needed."

I get that from ebay about once a month.

Unfortunately - it's a real message from ebay, wanting my personal bank account info so I can sell things one ebay. But I never sell things on ebay.

Ridiculous.

 

[Basil]

David's email reminds me of the regular emails I get from ebay, saying "Your selling account has been restricted. You still have not provided the information we requested. Please login to ebay, choose accounts, choose personal information, choose financial information, and enter the data needed."

I get that from ebay about once a month.

Unfortunately - it's a real message from ebay, wanting my personal bank account info so I can sell things one ebay. But I never sell things on ebay.

Ridiculous.

Weird, I have never gotten an email like that from EBay. Are you sure it's not EBay being spoofed?

 

[NutmegCT]

Not a spoof. Hundreds of users have been complaining about this, in ebay users groups and "communities".

Why is eBay asking me to provide my bank information to get paid?

When I visit my selling page and review how I get paid I see the following: "Getting paid has changed: Fees and expenses will be deducted before you get paid out and the remainder of your earnings will go directly to your bank account, not your PayPal account. Get set up in a few easy steps."...

community.ebay.com

Funny thing is that the email never says exactly what they want. The email only says go to your account and see what we need there. If you do that, you see something like "Please enter your bank's routing number and your account number. We'll send a test deposit of one cent to verify the account. From that point on, your payments for items you sell on ebay will go directly into your bank."

Thus adding yet another opportunity for hackers to get info.

For sellers, ebay wants to collect and disburse payments directly to sellers' bank account, and skip the PayPal step.

oy