On 24/08/07, Jacques B. <jjrboucher@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > WELL YOU LIKE TO LIVE DANGEROUSLY. NEVER CLICK ON A VIRUS WEB PAGE. WEB > > > > BROWSERS CAN COLLECT THE ADDRESSES OF PEOPLE WHO GO TO THE WEB SITE, > > > > SO YOU ARE ALREADY COMPROMISED. > That being the case, why would he be compromised > for having visited the site? In this scenario at most the web server > will have the IP of the person who visited, and the browser they used > (and some other non-compromising information). > To clarify Aaron's comment: the supplied URL may encode an id for the mail you received, marking the receiving address 'live' on a spammer's database. (In fact, marking it live and read by someone who follows such links, making it more valuable to them.) This used to be a favourite trick with 'if you have received this mailing in error click here' type scams which were aimed at collecting addresses to sell on. I have no idea whether the current crop of phishers bother with such tricks or if collecting people's bank account details is lucrative enough for them. -- imalone
