Avoid Scams

When using the web, it often seems as if lots of people are out to get you. All you need to do is look through your email, and you will regularly find scams where people or “systems” are indeed out to try to access your information.

Identifying a Scam

Nearly all scams start with automation. The scammer will run scripts on servers (usually compromised servers) to scan the web for potential victims. What they are trying to do is gather enough information about you to make a message seem plausible.

The scripts run by the scammers will scan the web looking for email addresses, system details and often outdated website software. They will also attempt to work out what kind of server you are using. For example, Ulatu runs on cPanel. This is the central software we use to allow users to manage their hosting accounts.

Lets imaging a scammer has scanned your site using an automated system. They might have been able to gather your email address, the fact that it runs on the cPanel control panel and that you have a website running WordPress. This gives then oppertunities to try and exploit you.

Scammers do not target a specific host or network. They create “bots” to browse the web looking for information. Each bot may collect thousands or tens of thousands of potential details that they will then attempt to exploit.

The next stage is where you first become aware of the scam. Again, they will use automation, but this time it is to contact you.

Avoid being a victim

You receive an email claiming to be from cPanel, advising you that your email password is due to expire. The email provides a link or a button requesting you update your password. These emails should always be ignored. Do not click anything or reply to the email.

If you do click through, you will find yourself on a website that looks very much like a cPanel page. It will then ask you to update your password. Part of this process will ask for your old password. If you provide this information, the scammers now have your details. They can then access your email and use it to send spam.

If you believe you may have been tricked into providing your password, then you should change it immediately. If you need further support, please raise a support ticket from the “Members Portal”.

A scammer’s goldmine is to obtain access to someone’s cPanel account. This allows them not only to access the user’s email accounts, but also allows them to host content that will later be used to run the scammer’s scripts and potentially fake websites.

If you ever suspect someone has access to your cPanel account, you should change the password as a priority. You should also change the passwords for any email address that is currently within your cPanel account.

In reality, your email address is owned by you. Neither we (Ulatu) nor cPanel will ever tell you that your passwords are due to expire. They do not expire. You can change your email password whenever you wish, but you will never be prompted to do so by us.

Generally, we will only contact you regarding billing, account limits or domain renewals. These emails will always come from an @ulatu email address. If you are ever in doubt, you can raise a support ticket through the Members Portal, and we will be happy to put your mind at rest by telling you whether the communication is genuine or not.

Running a website does indeed expose you to a lot more bad actors. There are people whose entire job is based on trying to scam people. They do not care about you or the hard work you put into your online presence. They are only interested in trying to obtain your account information to use it to their advantage.