A Spammer/Phisher On Gather

Last week I saw a ping on a friends page that concerned me, so I e-mailed Gather support about it. I took a Gather break yesterday. I have been very stressed out lately (hence the reason I have not been commenting alot). Today I found the same message with a different Gather name attached to it. So far these have come from nazia khan (naziakhan.gather.com) and alen lora (alenlora.gather.com).  I am 99% sure this is a spam/phishing site. Here is my e-mail to Gather support:

Hi, 

I got one of these on a ping today:

nazia khan, Oct 20, 2008, 5:48AM EDT
Hello!

This exclusive stock market newsletter can help you earn average 500% return every single year trading stocks.

Go and register yourself for 56 days free trial before they make it paid.

ThePowerStocks.com

It is from naziakhan.gather.com and leads to the page http://thepowerstocks.com/ which looks kind of phishy. I didn't check it out with samspade.org or any other sites like that though. Is this within the parameters of Gather TOS?

Chana

--- original message ---
From: Chana M.(discombobulated)
Subject: Question about TOS rules
Sent: Oct 18, 2008 11:40 AM EDT

Hi,

I saw this ping on a friends page:

Hello!

This exclusive stock market newsletter can help you earn average 500% return every single year trading stocks.

Go and register yourself for 56 days free trial before they make it paid.

ThePowerStocks.com

It is from alenlora.gather.com and leads to the page http://www.thepowerstocks.com/  which looks kind of phishy. I didn't check it out with samspade.org or any other sites like that though. Is this within the parameters of Gather TOS?

I looked it up on http://samspade.org/ and this is what I got:

http://www.thepowerstocks.com/ = [ 208.109.78.133 ]

Registrant: Domains by Proxy  Inc.
Registered through: GoDaddy.com  Inc. http://www.godaddy.com/
Domain Name: THEPOWERSTOCKS.COM
Domain servers in listed order: NS39.DOMAINCONTROL.COM NS40.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
See Business Registration Listing
Copy and paste the link below to view additional details:
(Asked whois.crsnic.net:43 about =thepowerstocks.com) (show)

Whois Server Version 2.0  Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net/  for detailed information.
Domain Name: THEPOWERSTOCKS.COM
Registrar: GODADDY.COM  INC.
Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com/
Name Server: NS39.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server: NS40.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientRenewProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 27-sep-2008
Creation Date: 26-sep-2007
Expiration Date: 26-sep-2009 
>>> Last update of whois database: Mon  20 Oct 2008 11: 42: 21 EDT <<< 
NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the  registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is  currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration  date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring  registrar.  Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to  view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.  TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois  database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and  automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or  modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry  Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for  information purposes only  and to assist persons in obtaining information  about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not  guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query  you agree to abide  by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only  for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data  to: (1) allow  enable  or otherwise support the transmission of mass  unsolicited  commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail  telephone  or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume  automated  electronic processes  that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation  repackaging  dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly  prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to  use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or  query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register  domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right  to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure  operational stability.  VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the  Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign  reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.  The Registry database contains ONLY .COM  .NET  .EDU domains and

Notice there is no contact information here. I would suggest people be very careful if you receive these pings. Also if you get them report them to Gather support

Notice there is no contact information here. I would suggest if you get them report them to Gather support. That is the only way Gather can know about these accounts and get rid of them.