Interesting form of Spam...

[MrLinus]

I sometimes look at the spam messages to see what they have inside and what new "things" they are "hocking". Whenever I download something that requires an email, I usually plop in my hotmail account (it's my "junk" account). Now, imagine my surprise at seeing this (especially since I know I didn't order anything). The email references RegCleaner, which I thought was a reputable shareware program (I remember using it once and then removing it). But then again, this might be no different than Spy-Control and all the fun things I had to deal with in regards to them.

In fact, after doing a bit of navigation around their site (www.sharewareonline.com) and seeing that "ad" that claims that I'm infected with spyware, I'm more inclined to think that this is a really sad "reverse" phish ("we almost had an order from you and you better complete it"). Thankfully my memory isn't that far gone --- yet.

From : <OrderDesk@SoftwareOnline.com>
Sent : April 15, 2005 7:27:20 PM
To : <msmittens@hotmail.com>
Subject : Your order at SoftwareOnline.com - Can we assist?

MIME-Version: 1.0
Received: from server170 ([66.216.126.170]) by MC6-F6.hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.211); Fri, 15 Apr 2005 12:26:21 -0700
Received: from server170 ([66.216.126.170]) by server170 with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.6713); Fri, 15 Apr 2005 12:27:20 -0700
X-Message-Info: JGTYoYF78jGZGF3gjxquyeeTO60UO7n04/3eXQLHpbU=
X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000
Thread-Index: AcVB8SS9gEXpFqB3Qf6f8kQVyMnfeg==
Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1441
Return-Path: OrderDesk@SoftwareOnline.com
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 15 Apr 2005 19:27:20.0937 (UTC) FILETIME=[24BF5590:01C541F1]
View E-mail Message Source

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Dear SoftwareOnline.com Visitor:

It appears that you attempted to place an order at our online store today, but
your credit card was declined by the issuing bank.

Very often this is caused by inaccurate information in the order. Please double
check the following:

- The address you provided MUST match your card's billing address
- The expiration date MUST match your card (check the year!)
- The CVV2 or CSC card code MUST be provided and match your card

Still having trouble? Call us toll free at 877-636-8872

If you subsequently were able to place your order, please ignore this message.
It will be sent each time an order is declined regardless of whether or not you
eventually succeed!

The reasons that an order can be declined are many and varied, and we as the
merchant don't get the full information about whether it was a credit issue,
bank error, communication problem, and so on... only your bank knows for sure!

However, we'd very much like to earn your business, and have included below the
information you need in order to return and place your order again if you'd like
to try at another time.

The order page you were using can be found here:

hxxps://store.sharewareonline.com/MainCheckout.aspx?Email=msmittens@hotmail.com&CatalogEntry=RegCleanCheckout2.xml&Referrer=cluregclean

If you still don't have any luck you can also call our office during normal
business hours (9AM to 5PM, PST in the USA) and we'd be happy to take your order
the old fashioned way! We can be reached at 425-369-2279 or, in the USA,
toll-free at 1-877-636-8872.

Sincerely,
The SoftwareOnline.com Team


To add to this the URL changes to:

hxxps://store.sharewareonline.com/(xzrog5am4fetcnf5bs3ygie4)/MainCheckout.aspx?Email=msmittens@hotmail.com&CatalogEntry=RegCleanCheckout2.xml&Referrer=cluregclean

Bolded info is spam tracker?

[foxyloxley]

the telephone number they provided (http://support.systweak.com/?_a=knowledgebase&_j=questiondetails&_i=165)

So they put a 'legit' number in, then they want your CC details on THEIR link.

Nice touch.

[Boisen]

Hello, I work for SoftwareOnline.com, the company that operates softwareonline.com and sharewareonline.com. I ran across this post and thought I would explain why you may have received this email.

First off, I want to assure you that this is not spam or a phishing attempt. The email you received is an email generated by our system when a user visits one of our websites and attempts to complete an order but for some reason the credit card is declined. The email is sent as a courtesy to our customers who expressed interest in our products but had trouble completing the transaction. You may have received this email when you attempted to purchase a product through a website operated by SoftwareOnline.com (i.e., websites other than softwareonline.com or sharewareonline.com) or someone may have provided your email when attempting to purchase one of our products. In any event, this email is not spam or a phishing attempt—it is simply a customer service tool to help users who have submitted orders that were declined—it is only sent to these people.

Of course, you don’t have to follow the link to order our software. You can call our customer support number provided in the email, 877-636-8872 (see www.softwareonline.com or www.sharewareonline.com for more details and hours of operation), visit one of our websites by actually typing in the address into your internet browser, or you can even submit orders through the mail.

I hope this clears everything up. If you have further questions, you can reach me at 425-369-2279, Ext. 127.

Thanks.
-Matt

[spamdies]

If they didnt order anything how could the order (that didnt exist) be declined?
If its legit you really neeeed to revamp your "order" system.

[realchesherkat]

Ahem.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/04/wa_software_online.html
April 11, 2006
SoftwareOnline.com, Inc. will pay $190,000 to settle allegations that it misrepresented the extent to which its software is necessary for security, bombarded potential customers with pop-up ads and used deceptive billing practices.

"SoftwareOnline misrepresented the extent to which its InternetShield and Registry Cleaner products are necessary to prevent attacks from malicious Web sites and computers crashes. The company then sold consumers programs they claim will protect them from such hazards," said Assistant Washington State Attorney General Katherine Tassi said.

"SoftwareOnline also used billing practices intended to sell its products without a buyer's explicit consent ," she said. "Consumers have the right to control their computers and not be subjected to alarmist deceptive advertising."

edit: My added emphasis in bold.

[bk_ghost]

Haha, yall ****ed up over at Software Online.