Media Labs Innovation (Singapore) and Yahoo! Philippines, are they partners?
I received an email yesterday from Media Labs Innovation (Singapore), it was asking me to join and make a donation. The email template looked a lot like Yahoo!’s and it also said “Your friends at Yahoo! Philippines”.
So, I checked the urls on the email, all of them are using http://www.mlionline.com/yahoo/{blah, blah}. If this email is really coming from Yahoo!, why not use a direct URL?
I tried the URL without the usual parameters and it turned out to be forwarding to http://pinoyconnect.promos.yahoo.com/schools.php#gilas-info. Ok, I don’t get it. First, how did they get my Gmail email? 2nd, why are they using a different URL for the links? This tactic seems to be phising for me (legit or not). It doesn’t look credible.
Anybody knows whats the connection between MLI and Yahoo! Philippines? Is Yahoo! even permitting using the brand for these kind of newsletters?
There is also a disturbing disclaimer at the bottom part of the newsletter “* Disclaimer: you are receiving this because you have requested Pinoy Connect updates.”. Really? I didn’t know that.
Anybody knows?
–aj
August 17th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I don’t think Yahoo has a physical entity in PH yet. Most of their operations here in Manila are handled by third-parties and they usually take their marching-orders from their Singapore office. Right now, I think only Google has some sort of a physical representation in Manila, PH. Besides, if Yahoo wants to touch base with you, they’d use a direct link as you say or sub link to the Yahoo.com site. Just my observation.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
[...] I received an email yesterday from Media Labs Innovation (Singapore), it was asking me to join and make a donation. The email template looked a lot like Yahoo!’s and it also said “Your friends at Yahoo! Philippines”. … …more [...]
August 18th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
it seems is a scam..