If You Get This, DON’T Respond (E-Mail Phish Alert) (CORRECTED - Really Dumb E-mail Alert)

UPDATE: I received a “corrected” version of the e-mail at about 5:00 PM ET without the login/password problem described here, but learned that it WAS intended to be a legitimate e-mail from Domania/Lending Tree (contrary to what is documented below). I have contacted the company’s e-mail service provider, who has seen the screen shot below, and who has promised a follow-up after talking with the ad’s campaign manager at Domania.

From my perspective, the corrected e-mail is dumb, and is one I would never have responded to (go here to see a screen shot of the corrected e-mail). There is to my knowledge no foolproof way to verify its origin, and therefore no way to know that I will be forwarded to a legitimate vendor’s web site if I attempt a clickthrough. Better safe than sorry.
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ORIGINAL POST (before update above)

I received a very unusual e-mail that I have to assume (and have confirmed) is a phishing expedition.

Here’s a picture of what I encountered when I clicked on the message in the message list window (width compressed to fit into the blog):

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That’s right, you’re looking at a log-in pop-up built into an e-mail.

I put in several bogus user names and passwords and the log-in window returned with no error message. I also clicked “cancel” several times, and the log-in window continued to return. The only way to escape was to quit my Mail program entirely.

I notified LendingTree.com of the problem, and directed them to the screen shot above. They said (of course) it’s not theirs, and that they would investigate.

Since I use Apple’s Mail program, it’s more than a little likely that some of the bad things that might happen to users of other mail programs didn’t and can’t happen to me. I suspect that putting in a user name and a password in a Windows-based -email program will direct you to a site that pretends to be Domania or Lending Tree, but isn’t.

What to do:

• Ideally, don’t even click on the message in the message list window of your e-mail program. I’m concerned that even clicking on the message in the message list window may trigger a malware download in Windows-based e-mail programs. So, if you can remember this post and you see a message with “Compare REALTORS(R), Save on Commissions” as the subject line, don’t even click on it, and send it with a group of other messages you wish to delete to your trash can.
• If you get this message and are directed to a log-in pop-up similar to what you see here, immediately quit your e-mail program. Upon relaunch, trash the message with a group of others so you can avoid the log-in pop-up.
• Whatever you do, don’t put valid info into the User Name or Password areas of the log-in pop-up.

E-mail me if you have any news to report on what happens with this e-mail when a Windows user encounters it.