* Identity Theft * Email Scams * Phishing Tips * Ebay Fraud * Dating Scams * Fake Websites * Bogus Job Offers * Web Scams *

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

This Week's Job Scam: Sydney Car Center

Here we go........

And what do they want you do to? The classic scam tip off: Moneygram/Western Union.

**************SCAM************

While we may have high expectations of our associates, we also give them high rewards. Imagine being part of a stable organization with a sterling reputation - a place where the Sydney Car Centre is an integral part of all that we do. With our car centre personality, you'll not just succeed - you'll thrive. And, with our strong commitment to promoting from within, you'll definitely enjoy your rise to the top.

Today the Sydney Car Centre is looking for an industrious regional assistant to fasten the process of the delivery of customer payments to the suppliers. The position offered is a part-time job, and will only require from you to be available for 1-2 hours a day.

As a regional assistant, you will be supposed to operate with the payments from those customers, based in your country. You will be expected to accept 2-3 transactions to your bank account every week, make certain calculations about every transaction (you will be precisely instructed about it), & transfer the funds to the suppliers by means of western Union/Money Gram less your fee & the charges of the Western Union/Money Gram. You will be continuously communicating with the manager from the head office, who will instruct you & give advice regarding every new payment.

The ideal candidate will be industrious, goal-oriented person, with the availability of a personal/business bank account suitable to be used for the company needs. Knowledge of English, computer literacy and sociability are appreciated.

The company guarantees to pay NET 10% fee out of the amount of every payment you dealt with and to provide you with the regular income & flexible schedule. All the related expenses you might have (like the Western Union/Money Gram chargers, related expenses on traveling) are covered by the company.

The more detailed information is available on our web-site http://vacancy-331069.scc.st/vacancies.php, where you can fill in the on-line application form for this position.

We would be glad to welcome you in our team!

We are looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible!


*******END OF SCAM EMAIL*******

Be Wary Of Emails- Especially unknown senders and greeting cards

I know this is nothing new, and we have all heard it. Never open emails from strangers. But what if you do not realize it is a stranger? The scammers are always thinking of new ways to dupe us. To give you an example, below is my bulk mail folder from today. EVERY SINGLE EMAIL IS FROM A SCAMMER. The newest thing seems to be the greeting card one. As you will notice, I have several emails that say someone sent me a greeting card- from all different places. Hallmark, American Greetings, etc. Not one person I personally know would be sending me an email at helpiwasscammed@yahoo.com, because it is strickly used for this site. SO I automatically know that these are scams, however, a person that only uses a single email for personal use, may think that a friend of theirs sent them a card.

DO NOT EVEN OPEN THESE MESSAGES AT ALL. If someone you know sent you a card, it should say it in the subject line, for example, a legit one I received for my birthday said, "You have a greeting card from diana" and it came from her email address.


Always look for the sender's name in the subject line, and you should recognize the person's name.


Here is my mail today:


Sender Subject


Postcard.com You've received a postcard from a Class-mate!
E-Cards.Com You've received a postcard from a Family member!
Rashid Amed Urgent reply needed Mon Jul 23, 2007
greetingcards.com You've received a greeting ecard from a School-mate!
Turner [none]
Dan Wyatt [none]
all-yours.net You've received an ecard from a Partner!
Downey Joachim [none]
Clotilda Rios Post
egreetings.Com You've received an ecard from a Class-mate!
Lewis Mswati YOUR EMAIL WON THE PRIZE
Buckley post
Julia agreement
Lewis Mswati YOUR EMAIL WON THE PRIZE
omar aburbarkar FROM THE DESK OF: MR OMAR ABURBARKAR
www.moneybookers.com Attention: Update Your Information
alhji imam VERY URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Patrick K.W Chan CONFIRM YOUR WINNING PRIZE Ref: XYL /26510460037/05
Houston Leonard [none]
ali ibrahim With Due Respect,
UNITED LOTTERY Winner.......Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Lawrence B. Dorothy [none]
Mytoystore@aol.com Fwd: A new vacancy announced [letter id: t7622509]
rita idoma Greeting From Mrs.Rita Idoma With Due Respect & Humanity
United Kingdom Lottery Final/ BATCH NÂș: 2007UKL-01


25 emails........5 greeting card scams, 5 fake lotteries, 5 scam letters (i.e. help me by sending me all of your money crap), 8 unknowns with attachments, (unknown sender, no subject, yet there is an attachment!), 1 fraud job offer, and 1 phishing (moneybookers). I do not even have an account with moneybookers, yet the email says I have to update my info with them by entering my credit card info! Yikes! People, please be careful.

These slimebuckets can erase your whole computer, with a simple mistake like opening and unknown email.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

ART SCAM


With all of the thousands of scam emails circulating, I cannot post them all. They all have the same thing in common: Money. Always promising large amounts of money in some way- but in reality stealing from us.
The same rule always applies: NEVER EVER SEND A STRANGER MONEY. That's it. Do not be blinded by what is offered through an email- A job, an 'inheritance', lottery, products, etc. The following email is a different twist on the same garbage. This one involves paintings. Read on, and pass the word along to anyone who may believe that these emails are real!


*****SCAM EMAIL*****


Message from gerald:
Gerald Mat Gallery
Registration number 3699677
VAT registration number 832 6732


Hello, I hope this email meets you in good condition of health, but I feel quite safe dealing with you in this mutual beneficial transaction. Though, this medium (Internet) has been greatly abused, I choose to reach you through it
because it still remains the fastest.

I am Gerald Matthews and I draw and paint for a living, I am 33 years old and have been drawing for 13 years. I am married with 2 kids. I have a vacancy in my company. As I am just setting up in the USA I will be requiring a financial
representative to work on a part time basis. I sell Arts all over the world,have sold to galleries and to private collectors, I am always facing serious difficulties selling my art works to Americans, they are always offering to pay with either Money orders/cashiers check, which is difficult for me to cash here in United Kingdom. I just need some one that could help me, this position will not take up your time nor will you have to use your own resources for the
position. The job does not entail anything stressful; you can do this while you still continue with your full time job or school. All you need is to devote about 5 hours of your time in a week in a given period of time. The payment will
be sent to you via regular mail or FedEx. When you get these payments which are for my paintings, you will cash it at your bank, deduct 10% of the money for your effort and have the rest wired to me via western Union or money gram.

Also you will need to have a BANK ACCOUNT where the check can be cleared and most important you need to be HONEST with me, my painting starts from $2500USD and above and this contract will last for about 6 months till am fully established in the USA. Kindly let me know if you will be interested in the Job Offer, all replies should be emailed to:gmatthewsarts@XXXXX

Best Regards
Gerald Matthews
gmatthewsartss@XXXXX


*****END OF SCAM EMAIL*****

Monday, July 16, 2007

IRISH LOTTERY SCAM

SAME PRINCIPAL RULES APPLY TO ALL LOTTERIES: FIRST, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS EMAIL LOTTERIES- IN ANY COUNTRY. You will never win a lottery unless you actually enter one, like buying a lottery ticket down at the corner market. And, not to be a lottery basher, however, "We know the deception, what about the truth? The truth is a lottery ticket buyer has a five times greater chance of being eaten by a shark than he has of winning the lottery. He's seven times more likely to be struck by lightening."*


*source: http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/life/2006/03_24_2006/bl240306prayer.shtml


TODAY'S SCAM EMAIL: "THE IRISH LOTTERY"





The Irish Lottery
P O Box 1010
11 G Lower Dorset Street,n
Dublin 1, Ireland
(Customer Services)
Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/05
Batch: R3/A312-59

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

We are pleased to announce to you the draw of the IRISH LOTTERY
PROGRAMME online Sweepstakes International Program held on friday 13
july 2007
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with
Serial number: 5368/05 drew the lucky number:(07, 15, 24, 36, 39, 44,
Bonus 26 ) which subsequently won the LOTTO PLUS 1 prize. You have
therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1 Million pounds
sterling)in
cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/05 of Irish Lottery.

All participants for the online version were selected randomly from the

World Wide Web through a computer draw system and extracted from over
100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed
online.This promotion takes place weekly.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European
booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play
coupon.
In view of this,your£1 Million pounds sterling) would be released to
you by
any of our payment offices in Europe(UK).


PLEASE FILL OUT THE VERIFICATION AND FUNDS RELEASE FORM AND SEND TO...


MR. COLE JOHN
PHONE; +44 70457 18834
Fax :+44 7075707725
Email: officialcontactirishclaims_agent@yahoo.co.uk
PAYMENT PROCESSING FORM

1.FULL NAMES:
2.ADDRESS:
3.SEX:
4.AGE:
5.MARITAL STATUS:
6.OCCUPATION:
7.E-MAIL ADDRESS:
8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
9.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL
10.AMOUNT WON:
11. COUNTRY

Congratulations from me and members of staff of THE IRISH LOTTERY.
Yours faithfully,

Sir. Cooker Johnson

Online coordinator for THE IRISH LOTTERY Sweepstakes International
Program.
*******END OF SCAM LETTER******


FOR ADVICE ON LOTTERY FRAUD FROM INTERPOL, HERE IS THE LINK:





Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization, with 186 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.

TO REPORT A LOTTERY EMAIL SCAM, SEND IT TO: spam@uce.gov

Friday, July 13, 2007

Abandoned Money, No Next Of Kin

This scammer is really hitting it hard. I have received this same email under 3 seperate email addresses. Most likely, it is being sent out to the masses. I would love to give these jerks a piece of my mind. Just FYI, there is no such thing as 'Abandoned Money'. If someone dies and leaves money behind, no stranger is going to send you an email that says, hey, lets divide this money up since no one knows about it. Ya, right. Greed can cloud our common sense and make us believe things that we normally would see right through. Money makes the world go round. We all want more of it. Earn it. Work. Invest. Save. I can promise you, that never ever will you receive money- any amount- through an email.

__________________________________________________________________________________

FROM THE DESK OF DR. GERALD ZONGO
THE MANAGER OF AUDIT AND ACCOUNTING DEPT,
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA)
OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA-FASO.

I MAKE THIS APPEAL WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT ANY FACTS OR OPINION
EXPRESSED BY ME ARE GIVING IN CONFIDENCE AND SOLELY FOR YOUR PERSONAL
INFORMATION AND USE.

I am DR. GERALD ZONGO the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign
remittance department of my Bank. In my department I discovered an abandoned
sum of US$12.5M,(Twelve Million, Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with
account number 14-2558-5976 that belongs to one of our foreign customers who
died along with his wife and only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska
Airlines Flight number 261 which crashed on 31 January, 2000. You can read
more about the crash on visiting this site
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

The owner of this account is Mr. Morris Thompson an American and great
industrialist and a resident of Alaska. It is therefore upon this discovery
that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and for our bank
to release the money to you. You have to follow the instruction which I will
send to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and
subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this
money to go into our bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remained
unclaimed after four years, the money will be transfered into the bank
treasury as unclaimed fund. The money has now stayed more than four years
and I am preparing documentaion to prove that this money has been transfered
to our bank treasury. It will be between me and you only that will know
that the money is not transfered into our treasure.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this transaction is occasioned by
the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabé cannot stand as
next of kin to a foreigner.In appreciation of your assistance, I am offering
you 30% of the total sum. 5% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other
charges) likely to be incurred during the course of transaction, while the
remaining 65% is for me.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of
the application which you will complete and forward to our bank asking for
this money to be paid to you as the next of kin to Mr. Morris Thomson. I
will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch-free
and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have
been made for the transfer. You should contact me immediately as soon as you
receive this mail through the above email.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY YOU CONSIDER MY URGENT
REQUEST.

Yours Faithfully,
DR. GERALD ZONGO





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Job Scam - 'Regional Assistant'


THESE TYPES OF SCAMS ALWAYS HAVE TWO RED FLAGS:
1. JOBS ARE NOT OFFERED THROUGH EMAILS
2. USING YOUR PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT


********TODAY'S JOB SCAM:********

While we may have high expectations of our associates, we also give them high rewards. Imagine being part of a stable organization with a sterling reputation - a place where the Sydney Car Centre is an integral part of all that we do. With our car centre personality, you'll not just succeed - you'll thrive. And, with our strong commitment to promoting from within, you'll definitely enjoy your rise to the top.

Today the Sydney Car Centre is looking for an industrious regional assistant to fasten the process of the delivery of customer payments to the suppliers. The position offered is a part-time job, and will only require from you to be available for 1-2 hours a day.

As a regional assistant, you will be supposed to operate with the payments from those customers, based in your country. You will be expected to accept 2-3 transactions to your bank account every week, make certain calculations about every transaction (you will be precisely instructed about it), & transfer the funds to the suppliers by means of western Union/Money Gram less your fee & the charges of the Western Union/Money Gram. You will be continuously communicating with the manager from the head office, who will instruct you & give advice regarding every new payment.

The ideal candidate will be industrious, goal-oriented person, with the availability of a personal/business bank account suitable to be used for the company needs. Knowledge of English, computer literacy and sociability are appreciated.

The company guarantees to pay NET 10% fee out of the amount of every payment you dealt with and to provide you with the regular income & flexible schedule. All the related expenses you might have (like the Western Union/Money Gram chargers, related expenses on traveling) are covered by the company.

The more detailed information is available on our web-site http://vacancy-33652.1/vacancies.php, where you can fill in the on-line application form for this position.

We would be glad to welcome you in our team!

We are looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible!

Yours sincerely, Benjamin Henley

Do Not Open Unknown 'Greeting Card' emails

**WARNING** Trojans & Viruses in email fake 'ecards'

Lately I have been receiving 'greeting card' emails- saying that someone sent me an ecard- and to click on the link. The red flag here is that this email address- helpiwasscammed@yahoo.com- is strictly used for this website only, and my personal friends & family do not send me emails here. No one should be sending me a greeting card.
Here is an example of a fake ecard email, following with an article on how to protect yourself.


This is the email I received just today:
(I do not recommend following that link in the email)

Hi. A School friend has sent you a greeting card.
See your card as often as you wish during the next 15 days.

SEEING YOUR CARD

If your email software creates links to Web pages, click on your
card's direct www address below while you are connected to the
Internet:

http://66.243.175.68/?2b0099675c50080d0229e36841257XXXXXX

Or copy and paste it into your browser's "Location" box (where Internet

addresses go).



PRIVACY
riversongs.Com honors your privacy. Our home page and Card Pick Up have
links to our
Privacy Policy.

TERMS OF USE
By accessing your card you agree we have no liability.
If you don't know the person sending the card or don't wish to see the
card,
please disregard this Announcement.

We hope you enjoy your awesome card.

Wishing you the best,
Mailer-Daemon,
riversongs.Com


________________*****END OF SCAM EMAIL*****_____________






Mary Landesman from About.com wrote this article about Greeting Card Scams:


Attackers are increasingly using greeting card scams to foist trojans on the unsuspecting. Fortunately, there are some tell-tale signs and tips to follow that can help you avoid becoming a victim.

Be extra suspicious. Suspect a scam if (a) the greeting card doesn't address you by name; (b) the card sender's name isn't included in the body of the email; (c) the name isn't familiar; and (d) it's not a holiday, a birthday, or any other occasion that might warrant a card. If the card requires that you install a special viewer or tries to download a file to your system, treat it like a trojan. Cancel the download and scan your system with up to date antivirus software.

Be extra vigilant. If you receive a card from someone you know but you aren't quite sure it's legit, compose a new email to that person and ask if they sent you a card.
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Don't reply using the email you received - the From address just might be bogus.

Typically, the bogus greeting cards try to trick you into downloading a trojan that then tries to download other malicious files to the system. Even worse, the trojan is often cross-infected with the Parite virus. One example of a cross-infected 'greeting card' trojan is Backdoor:IRC/Zapchast.AN.

There are two victims with these greeting card scams - the user who fell for it and the legitimate greeting card company whose good name was used to trick that user. For example, there have recently been several reports of these scams pretending to be from the legitimate - and quite harmless - Bluemountain Greeting Cards site. This is not the first time Bluemountain has been caught in the crosshairs - in 1999 they were the victim of a virus hoax that also tried to discredit their name.

As with all malware and social engineering scams, the best defense is a good offense. Be aware.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Internet Fraud Statistics


The article below should tell you that Internet fraud is out of control- over $590 million lost just last year. Let's get the word out, and stop the con artists from stealing our money.


INTERNET FRAUD STATISTICS

(Posted by Michael Bloch in ecommerce, Sunday February 11, 2007 )

The FTC has released a rather massive set of statistics relating to fraud in their report; Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Data January - December 2006. The section regarding Internet related fraud shows some marked increases compared to 2005.

Number of complaints

Over 176,000 complaints were lodged with the FTC in 2006 relating to Internet fraud; an increase of 16,000 over 2005.

Amount paid

Over $590 million dollars was paid by consumers reporting Internet fraud, with the average amount being $3,338 and the median amount being $500; an increase of $158 per incident compared to 2005.


$590 MILLION! AND THAT IS NOT INCLUDING ALL THE CONSUMERS WHO NEVER REPORT IT.


Methods of payment

Credit cards were the most common methods of payment reported for Internet related fraud complaints during 2006 at 35%, followed by wire transfer (22%) and bank account debit (18%). Wire transfer showed a substantial increase throughout 2006.

Method of initial contact

The report shows that in 45% of complaints lodged relating to any sort of fraud during 2006, the initial method of contact from the fraudster was email. This is an increase of 11% over 2005. 15% of complaint stated the method of initial contact was via a web site; a decrease of 5% from 2005.

Age groups

The two most common age groups reporting online fraud were 30 - 39 and 40 - 49 at 24% each.

The top 10 fraud complaint categories (Internet and non-Internet)

1 Identity Theft
2 Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales
3 Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries
4 Internet Services and Computer Complaints
5 Internet Auctions
6 Foreign Money Offers 20,411
7 Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection/Repair
8 Magazines and Buyers Clubs
9 Telephone Services
10 Health Care

Increases in online fraud aren’t good news for anyone - consumers or online businesses. Whether there has been a real increase in fraud or just in the numbers of people lodging complaints is hard to say, but judging by what I see hit my inbox, the former certainly wouldn’t surprise me.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, reports like this do nothing to instill confidence in online shoppers, so you need to ensure you make every effort to reassure your site visitors you are who you say you are, will respect your customers’ privacy, provide adequate levels of security and will deliver the goods you advertise.

Someone Died & Left Behind Millions For You To Be A Partner Of. Ya, Right.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO EMAILS LIKE THIS:


Attn:

I work as the Head of Fund Manager with one of the World
Leading Investment & Fund Management Institution based in Accra Ghana.
I have an Investor under my portfolio with a closing balance of $20 million
as his first initial deposit. This Investor died two years ago
leaving no WILL or AUTHORIZATION for re-transfer of his Investment and
its proceeds to the INHERITOR and because of the lawys here in Ghana we have not been able to move the fund out of this country but the fund has been deposited in BANK Of Ghana here is Accra Ghana

I have personally carried out an
Investigation on the subject matter that takes me 9 months to finalize
and was made to understand that the Family or Relatives of the Investor
knows nothing about his Investment and none have any records of all his
deposits and investment with us leaving an avenue for claiming of the
said funds with its accrued interest on presentation of a trustworthy
person that can stand as the INHERITOR to the deceased.

If you are
interested, I can present you as the INHERITOR with all the relivant informations and proper
documentation that will qualify you to have the funds claimed and on
doing this, our establishment will not question the release of the
funds to you as I will make sure that we comply with the laid down
rules and laws of claiming the Investment of a deceased Investor in our
Establishment. Our sharing ratio will be 60:40.Please contact me for
more detail breakdown if interested.i will send you thE account informations where the fund is deposited in BANK Of Ghana

Looking forward to hearing from
you shortly .

Sincerely.

Mr.John Kojo.

Never Believe Job Offers In Email - A Scam Every Time

Here is just one of the thousands of scam emails circulating the globe. JOB OFFERS LIKE THIS ARE NEVER REAL. DO NOT GET YOUR HOPES UP, OR SEE $ $ IN YOUR EYES THAT DOES NOT REALLY EXIST. DON'T FALL FOR IT. PROTECT YOURSELF, TRUST NO ONE.



Hi Dear,
My name is Uichiro Niwa and an international human resource
co-ordinator for Itochu Export Company associates here in Japan.We are
seeking trustworthy
and reliable individiuals/ coporate bodies to represent our interests
with
our ever increasing customers in the U.S,Canada.
This message is sent in english for universal understanding.We deal
in export of rice,tea and coffee to mention but a few of our
products.The duties of these representatives will be primarily to receive
payments on our behalf from our customers in their area of location.Secondary
duties will be that such representatives may also
act on our behalf as purchasing officers.Please note that this job
offer is specifically for people resident in Canada and the United States.
You can be compensated with between 10% for your service. We
guarantee you a minimum of$2,000 monthly part time and can reach
$20,000 based on the volume and experience as time goes on. All this is
possible because of delay in getting approval for oversea branch.
If you are interested and for more information,If you are interested in
this business transaction,forwa rd to us the information below:

1) Full names :
2) Phone:
3) Cell:
4) Fax:
5) Mailing/residential address:
6) Occupation and Position Held :
7) Country


Thank you.
Uichiro Niwa
Itochu Export Company

Bogus Microsoft Scam

******FRAUD*******

MICROSOFT CORPORATION CASH PROMO AWARD.


Ref: AWHIO./WH68768P/68
Batch: 0094/AM6880


WINNING NOTIFICATION AWARD




Congratulation, we the entire directors wish to bring to your notice, the cash Prize award $1,000,000(One Million Dollars)won by you, in the terms of using our Service,this year 2007. You are a lucky winner of the "Microsoft Corporation Cash Promo Award" this week, first week of July, 2007.

I, the Chairman of Microsoft Corporation have not forgotten my faithful customers around the world, who are patronizing me and my management in purchasing our Services/Product. This is why I must also encourage you all, by doing it this way with my management.

You are to contact our promo award manager,with the following contact below,it should be done in not less than one week of Notification of price.

Mr. Fedrick Depp
Phone Number: +44-703-590-2906
Email Address:fedrickdeppmail@yahoo.co.uk

Note:The Verification and Claims form should be filled and sent to the event manager who will immediately commerce process to facilitate the transfer of your fund to you.For security reason you are advice to keep your winning information confidential till your won price is processed and transferred to you.
This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program.Please be warned

Thanks for your good works.


VERIFICATION AND CLAIMS INFORMATION FORM.

Full Name:
Sex:
Marital Status:
Country:
Contact Address:
Age:
Telephone Number:
Occupation:
Amount won:
Batch Number:
Reference Number:
Valid Identification for payment purpose i.e International passport or drivers license(scaned copy)
CONGRATULATIONS, FROM THE MEMBERS AND STAFF OF MICROSOFT CORPORATION.


Microsoft is doing it at this moment for every one worldwide
High Solution Hour.

William H Gates
Chairman
Microsoft Corporation
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: The document accompanying this transmission may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. This information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity mail address above. The authorized recipient of this information is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled.

If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or action taken in reliance on the contents of these document is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately and arrange for the return or destruction of these document.

© 2007 Microsoft Corporation Reserved.


*Immediately Trash This Type Of Crap.*

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Even Fraud "Help" Sites May Not Be What They Seem

Today I have been researching other sites to link to, to make Internet Fraud Help the ultimate fraud resource for all of us. I have to say, I am a little upset by what I found. Out of the last 5 sites I just visited, NONE are worth our time. One site had some good articles, however, the excessive ads, and the "Please check out these offers to help keep our site free" and the Notice at the bottom that states: "We provide ___________ as a public service and, unfortunately don't have the manpower to answer emails concerning your questions."

What? And this site claims to be the #1 fraud site. That is sad to me. The supposed "best" fraud site on the net will not respond to you, and tries to sell you something at every turn. And, I spent over an hour trying to find good scam information, and I had to weed through hundreds of unrelated articles, like "Does Southwest Airlines Offer Free Fares for Those with AIDS?" and "Al Gore & the scriptures."

The moral of this story: Always use common sense, do your own research, and be wary of those who appear helpful but really just want your money.

Internet Fraud Help will only have internet fraud related information, where to get help, and your emails will always be answered!

Monday, July 2, 2007

Turning The Tables On The Scammers

Turning the tables on Nigeria's e-mail scams
By Dan Damon
BBC, London

Mike is a "scambaiter," dedicated to fighting back against those who send out the notorious 419 e-mails, promising untold wealth to anyone gullible or naive enough to disclose their bank details.

Mike asked us not to use his full name because he's dealing with some heavy cross-border criminals.

Briefcase full of dollars
Those who fall for the 419 cons are hoping for millions
His group of volunteers at 419eater.com use their computer skills to fool the scammers, to disrupt their crimes, and to have some fun at the scammer's expense.

Every day, millions of people get e-mails like this:

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I am fine today and how are you? I hope this letter will find you in the best of health. I am Prince Joe Eboh, the Chairman of the "Contract Award Committee", of the "Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)", a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

NDDC was set up by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha who died on 18th June 1998, to manage the excess revenue accruing from the sales of Petroleum and its allied products as a domestic increase in the petroleum products to develop the communities in the Niger Delta Oil producing areas. The estimated annual revenue for 1999 was $45 Billion US Dollars...

And of course, if you were only willing to help the writer siphon some of it off, a few of those many millions could be yours.

Police estimate that every year, US citizens alone are conned out of some $200m.

Painted breast

Mike told me how he baited the writer of the e-mail above, Prince Joe Eboh.

"I'm sure he's not a prince at all," Mike says. "He contacted me with a standard 419 [so-called after a section of Nigeria's legal code] scam.


I have been troubled recently after the death of a dear friend of mine, Minnie Mowse
'Father Hector Barnett'
"I tried to turn it round by saying I worked for a church and we couldn't do any business with people who are not of our faith."

Mike sent a response in the name of Father Hector Barnett of the Church of the Painted Breast.

Dear Sir,

I would dearly love to help you. If you ever decide to join our faith then of course I could help you both with my experience and financial support. I wish you well in your endeavour my brother.

Yours, Father Hector Barnett

"Now I knew the guy would write back and say: 'Well, can I join your faith?' and indeed he did," says Mike.

Dear Father Hector,

If joining your faith is what it takes to help me of course, I am ready to join you. I'm from a good Christian family. I will do anything you want me to do in the faith. Don't forget that I have to transfer the money to your account as urgently as possible. Send me your account details. I hope to read your mail soon.

Prince Joe Eboh

'War-paint'

Dear Joe,

Our ministry was founded in 1774 by a wonderful lady by the name of Betsy Carrington. She spent many of her first preaching years in Kenya, spreading the holy gospel amongst the local people there. She was the first person male or female to promote Christian texts and beliefs to the Masai warrior tribe.

Mike's faked picture
The Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast 'initiation ceremony'
The most famous account is when as a test she had to remove the top part of her clothes and paint the top half of her body and breast with the red Masai war-paint as a gesture of faith and belief to them so that they would accept her and trust her. She was almost immediately accepted by them and was one of the most trusted westerners known at that time.

As a qualification to enter the Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast, all followers must go through the initiation procedure that Miss Carrington made so famous. I have attached a photograph of four of our young inductees going through the procedure.

Please use this picture to enable you to make the same marking on yourself. I have also attached a small picture showing the design in more detail. I look forward to welcoming you into our membership my brother.

Father Hector Barnett Financial Development - Holy Church of The Order of The Red Breast.

'Processing fees'

Using image software, Mike made up an "initiation" picture. And Prince Joe duly carried out the induction and e-mailed back a photo of himself in the properly sanctified state.

Dear Brother Hector,

I want to thank the Almighty God himself for the opportunity I have to be a member of this great church The Holy Church Of The Painted Breast. I'm looking forward to establishing a branch of the Church here. But I'll like us to finish everything about the business proposal, which I sent to you earlier...

Prince Joe Eboh's picture
The picture sent by Prince Joe Eboh
"He then tried to hit me for $18,000 for processing fees for transferring millions," Mike says.

He wrote back as Father Hector, saying that the church had plenty of money, but there was a withdrawal fee of $80.

"I persuaded him to send me the $80, which he did, inside a birthday card, by courier," Mike says.

However, former Scotland Yard fraud officer Tom Craig says that it is unprecedented for the 419 con artists to part with any money - he suggests the notes may have been forged.

Mike says that any money they get from these reverse stings to a children's charity in the north of England.

Exporting snow

Father Hector of the Church of the Painted Breast then entered a troubling period of religious uncertainty.

Dear Joe,

This is your good friend Hector Barnett. Please do not be alarmed that I am contacting you from a different e-mail address. I will explain what has happened.


The guy obviously thought he was going to get $18,000 so easily, he was blinded by his own greed
Mike
I have been troubled recently after the death of a dear friend of mine, Minnie Mowse. She was a very, very dear friend indeed, and her death affected me greatly and started to make me question my faith. I have decided to leave the church and join a travelling circus.

I have already made two very good friends, and tomorrow I will be starting my circus training with them...

Prince Joe then began receiving e-mails from another "Reverend" of the Church of the Painted Breast worried about the disappearance of Father Hector and $18,000 from church funds.

Joe already knew from Hector's increasingly eccentric e-mails that he had put the money into a business exporting snow to Siberia.

Lottery winnings

Despite that, Prince Joe still hasn't given up, even though he's $80 down. The e-mail exchange between the probably fake prince and the obviously fake church continues.

At the same time, the scambaiters are running several other such stings.

I asked Mike why these people who are themselves scammers can't spot an obvious scam.

"I think it operates in much the same way as it does with real victims. Greed clouds their judgement. The guy obviously thought he was going to get $18,000 so easily, he was blinded by his own greed.

"Which is what happens to those who fall for the 419 scams; they just see all these millions."

This would all be funny if it wasn't for the millions of dollars being stolen and probably put into drugs or other criminal activities.

Mike and his friends send all their e-mail exchanges to the police in the UK, Nigeria and to the FBI - he says they've had no response. And even warning the victims does no good. Most of them don't want to believe they're being scammed.

The latest e-mail scam concerns lottery winnings you didn't know you had.

If you're tempted, just remember Prince Joe who's still sending e-mails saying he's sticking to his promise and saying the daily prayer: "When all above seems a great test, Get on down with the Holy Red Breast."

Dear Father,

When I said the prayer this morning, something like a fountain went down my system making me to feel strong & happy. I have spent money to process all the necessary documents for the transfer of this fund. What remains now is the registration of your name as the contractor who executed the contract.

Yours, Joe.

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