[TN-Bird] Apologies re: Richard Schier's aol email account has been "hacked" (forward from Wallace Coffey)

From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "TN-birds" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:08:30 -0500
The attack on TN-Birds Net, and many of you individually, was launched from a 
user near
Wichita, KS.  Neither the rschier461 address or our mailing list was hit 
directly.  There
is evidence that no entry was made to our list  by anyone attempting to 
directly subscribe
and then posting the virus from rschier461, directly to our list as a 
subscriber.  Rather, it
seems, the hacker apparently entered a port into a listserv at some point and 
was able
to send to our list without actually using the address rschier461 which is not 
subscribed
to TN-Birds Net.  But the message did end up in TN-Birds Net archive so the 
exact route
into the list is still unknown but it appears very nontraditional.  The hacker 
and mode of
operation has been experienced by a number of online users across the nation 
and there
is reasonable protest and outcry attempting to get the spamming stopped.  Some 
of you
did receive messages that appeared to be from other birders you know and did 
not open
the suspicious subject lines.  Some of you received an additional spam that did 
not use
Re1 but used Re2 in the subject.  Sharon Schier wrote and warm and concerned 
email
to me extending apologies regarding the message sent from her late husband 
Richard Schier's rschier461@xxxxxxx email address.  Although Richard passed 
away in April 2010, she
has kept his AOL email account active.  Actually, this would have happened to 
anyone
in the path of the hacker and spammer.  Our best defense is an aggressive 
offense.  We can
be aggressive by carefully constructing specific subject lines with some 
reasonable details
and messages that carry specific locations and signed by our actually 
subscribers with
their actual locations by city, town and state.  Any of our subscribers are 
then armed to the
max to spot anything that is out of the ordinary in a post that may be spam 
and/or viruses.
The Hooded Crane is drawing an increasing arrival of new subscribers from all 
over the
country who are tracking it.  Many of them are use to "anything goes" post to 
bird list that
are often rank with fighting, sloppy and unreliable information and no 
attribution to much of
anything.  Please help TN-Birds hang on to the high and safe standards we have 
mostly
been able to achieve.  Of the thousands of list out there by freelist, I think 
we were still
ranked in the top two or three lists in the world and in science for our high 
quality, constant
focus and getting it done.  Hang in there TN-Birders.

Be sure and read Sharon Schier's message to me that follows by signature:

Wallace Coffey
Moderator, TN-Birds Net
Tennessee Ornithological Society
Bristol, TN  

Original Message ----- 
From: Sharon Schier 
To: jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: December 28, 2011 08:15
Subject: Apologies re: Richard Schier's aol email account has been "hacked"


Wallace,

I saw your post on TN Birds Net this morning regarding the message sent from my 
late husband Richard Schier's rschier461@xxxxxxx email address.  Although 
Richard passed away in April 2010, I have kept his AOL email account active.  
Apparently, it was "hacked" and that nefarious email was sent out to his entire 
e-address book yesterday evening.  His e-address book contains a large number 
of birders, and I wanted to thank you for warning people not to open the email. 
 

My apologies for this distressing turn of events.  

Sincerely,
Sharon Schier
[TN-Bird] Apologies re: Richard Schier's aol email account has been "hacked" (forward from Wallace Coffey)

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