BBKA cloned web site Warning

[Adam]

In case some of you are not aware the BBKA web site has been cloned which gives concern about security of passwords etc

Here's the email from the BBKA

"We have become aware of a cloned copy of the BBKA website.

This cloned website is at the following address: www.britishbeekeepersassociation.com

We are currently working to rectify this situation, but please take care NOT to visit nor enter ANY information (membership number, password, shop payments etc.) into this fake site.

Please take care that you are always browsing the official BBKA site",


If the problem is serious maybe the site should have been taken down for a short time?

[gavin]

Any chance that the web-site cloner may put the forum back onto vBulletin, replace the old PMs, fix the URLs so that all the old external links to posts on there (as we have on SBAi) actually work again, fix the broken links to images in posts, sorts a better search engine, and replaces the folk running it with people who will resist any future mucking about with the site?!

Too much to hope for, I know. In the meantime, by wary of falling for scams.

Adam, I've just clicked the link for the first time. It redirects you straight to http://www.bbka.org.uk/

so if that is all it does I don't really see a problem. Or did it do something else before? I don't see that the BBKA taking theirs down would solve anything.

[Neils]

Looks like it's down but yesterday it certainly appeared to be a mirror of the BBKA site rather than a redirect. I was away so didn't have much opportunity to have a play with it.

[susbees]

Any chance that the web-site cloner may put the forum back onto vBulletin, replace the old PMs, fix the URLs so that all the old external links to posts on there (as we have on SBAi) actually work again, fix the broken links to images in posts, sorts a better search engine, and replaces the folk running it with people who will resist any future mucking about with the site?!



Hmm....quite. Anyhow if you fancy a trip to the BBKA Spring Convention in April Gavin you can attend a workshop on navigating around the website!

The clone had a shop that didn't work (so not directly scamming £) and apparently a list of celebs or similar who are apparently members which doesn't appear (again apparently) on the original. All very odd but quickly fixed...a notice came up saying access had been blocked then later spliced up to link straight into the official site.

[Adam]

I did see the cloned site for a short while, Looks like the BBKA have managed to get any links to the cloned site redirected back to theirs.

Someone's playing silly buggers I guess, Maybe some anti-pesticide top-bar hive group or something.




"Any chance that the web-site cloner may put the forum back onto vBulletin, replace the old PMs, fix the URLs so that all the old external links to posts on there (as we have on SBAi) actually work again, fix the broken links to images in posts, sorts a better search engine, and replaces the folk running it with people who will resist any future mucking about with the site?!"

Unfortunately not I think.

[Jon]

Someone's playing silly buggers I guess, Maybe some anti-pesticide top-bar hive group or something.


Those worthy and ethical folk would never stoop so low!! Look how much care they take to make sure that journalists do not get the wrong end of the beekeeping stick. I mean, you would never want to encourage a journalist to put into print that we have ccd in the uk and that the bees of the British Isles are dying by the barrowload. (allegedly)

[Neils]

It's been interesting following, as much as I can, the shenanigans over this. I was on a phone when it was in full swing so it was hard to establish just how much of it was actually "cloned" or whether it was simple re-direction to the actual BBKA website. Funnily enough there's nothing at all on the BBKA site about it, at least last time I looked, so it's difficult to get much context of what they believe was going on, especially in relation to whether they believe that the site was compromised and if so, whether any [personal] data was also obtained.