Another variation of the Citadel malware scam (which pops up threatening messages on your computer in order to extort money to "fix" problems that don't exist or to pay a "fine" for copyright or pornography violations that no police or FBI authorities are really pursuing) has appeared and this time it seems to be customized into several different languages and will present the language it recognizes on the computer and deliver a unique message claiming to be a charity and asking for money. The scam works because it preys on the sympathies of people,
telling them of children who "desperately" need their help. It also
tries to trick victims by using the names of real, credible charities. But the grammar is horrible and that is a good top-off.
One sentence says the money will go to programs that "serve the poorest
child in Haiti." Another says, "We work currently with two orphanages
and elementary school, we are seeking donations." And: "All you give,
they'll be much appreciated." Not exactly great sentence structure.
The English version of this scam claims that the money will go to
impoverished Haitian children. The Italian-language version claims it is
for the "Red Balloon" campaign, created to fight child mortality in
Italy. The Spanish version is for a well-known Spanish nutrition program for infants and
children. The German version says donations will be going to ChildFund, and the
Dutch version claims the donations will benefit Save the Children.
The tricky part is the scammer only asks for $1, hoping the victim will feel how hard can it be to donate $1 to a worthy cause? But the goal of the scam is not the $1, it's to get the credit card number so they can use it for higher dollar amounts and sell the number to other scammers. Victims who click on the pop up are asked to fill out a form that
asks for their name, card number, expiration date, CVV code, and
security password. And the scammers promise their victims, "We treat personal information with the utmost respect for your privacy." Scammers lie about everything.
Even if you don't click on this pop-up screen, your computer is still infected with the Citadel malware virus and you'll need clean your computer with anti-malware software.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Internet Scam: PayPal Transfer
At first, I wasn't sure what this scam email was after, the reply-to address didn't go back to the scammer, there was no attachment, and I didn't immediately even see a link within the email to check, because I was viewing the text version (which had no links) and not the HTML version (which had only the transaction ID hotlinked and I could then see (withOUT clicking on it!), the destination was clearly a scammer.
Had I clicked, a faked PayPal page would have appeared asking me to log in and then the scammer would have gotten my paypal login information.
This got a little more of my attention than usual because I am a Bank of America customer. But before doing anything, you just go through the steps: I checked the reply-to address, I checked if it had a weird attachment, I checked for any links within the email to see, without clicking, if they went to weird destinations (this turned out affirmative), and I opened a brand new browser windows and manually typed in paypal.com and logged in myself and checked my account to make sure there were no recent transactions I didn't know about.
And then moments later, I got the same email, but from "Harold Carrillo" so they are obviously mixing up the fake name in the email headers.
Had I clicked, a faked PayPal page would have appeared asking me to log in and then the scammer would have gotten my paypal login information.
This got a little more of my attention than usual because I am a Bank of America customer. But before doing anything, you just go through the steps: I checked the reply-to address, I checked if it had a weird attachment, I checked for any links within the email to see, without clicking, if they went to weird destinations (this turned out affirmative), and I opened a brand new browser windows and manually typed in paypal.com and logged in myself and checked my account to make sure there were no recent transactions I didn't know about.
And then moments later, I got the same email, but from "Harold Carrillo" so they are obviously mixing up the fake name in the email headers.
Received: from [190.71.231.187] (port=57194 helo=190-71-231-187.epm.net.co)
From: Robert Barra (notify@paypal.com)
SUBJECT: We have sent you a bank transfer.
Paypal transfer
We aretransferring funds fromYour Paypal account to your bank account.
Total amounttransferred$769.74
BankaccountBANK OF AMERICA
Transaction ID24683185533251731 (actually links to http://jemappelleshen.com/tranxxinfo.html)
Help Center Resolution Center Security CenterPlease don't reply to this email. It'll justconfuse the computer that sent it and you won'tget a response.Copyright 2012 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPalis located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Internet Scam: IRS Intimidation Scam
This email is a variation of a scam being sent to many target demographics, pretending like something illegal has taken place and you either need to pay a fee upfront to fix it, or give up a lot of personal information to have it investigated or to get more information on it.
In some variations, the scammers just go for the money and pretend the person has been caught with pornography on their computer. They don't care about all the people receiving the fake alert who do not have pornography on their computers, they are just targeting those that do - and these are people who won't report the alert and probably just pay the fee to be left alone... a scammer's "sweet spot".
But people are afraid of their taxes and the IRS, so this particular email is targeted at CPAs and a slightly different version is targeted towards taxpayers.
If you or your client receives any type of scam email looking like it might come from the IRS:
In some variations, the scammers just go for the money and pretend the person has been caught with pornography on their computer. They don't care about all the people receiving the fake alert who do not have pornography on their computers, they are just targeting those that do - and these are people who won't report the alert and probably just pay the fee to be left alone... a scammer's "sweet spot".
But people are afraid of their taxes and the IRS, so this particular email is targeted at CPAs and a slightly different version is targeted towards taxpayers.
This email then also contains an attachment called complaint.doc. Do NOT open it! It will install malware on your computer and give you all kinds of problems!"Valued accountant officer,We have received a complaint about your recent involvement in income tax refund fraud on behalf of one of your employers. According to AICPA Bylaw Section 765 your Certified Public Accountant status can be cancelled in case of the occurrence of filing of a false or fraudulent income tax return on the member's or a client's behalf.Please find the complaint below and respond to it within 14 days. The failure to respond within this period will result in suspension of your CPA license."
If you or your client receives any type of scam email looking like it might come from the IRS:
- Do not open any attachments
- Do not click on any links within the email
- Do not reply to the email
- Forward the email, as is, to phishing@irs.gov
- Then delete the email
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Internet Scam: Online Pet Sales
Take heed to do thorough research before purchasing a pet online. Scammers use one of their traditional types of scams - the fake seller, on this topic.
How It Works:
The scammer places an ad for a pet - puppies are popular but the scammer doesn't care so it may be for any type of pet. They'll place a good price on it and make their ad as legitimate looking as they can.
The seller then, through whatever story they can devise, persuade the victim to pay for the animal upfront via wire transfer (Western Union or MoneyGram, etc), as well as transportation and initial vet fees. Once the money is picked up by the scammer, the transaction is completely untraceable and they disappear. There is no puppy.
The scammers are not targeting everyone as their victim. They only want to spend their time on those animal lovers who have a trusting enough nature and want the animal so much that they will pay all those fees upfront, without seeing the animal live or the person who is selling it.
One way to avoid this scam is to just never agree to use wire transfers for payment. Use something more reliable like your credit card or paypal (but only to a verified account on paypal).
How It Works:
The scammer places an ad for a pet - puppies are popular but the scammer doesn't care so it may be for any type of pet. They'll place a good price on it and make their ad as legitimate looking as they can.
The seller then, through whatever story they can devise, persuade the victim to pay for the animal upfront via wire transfer (Western Union or MoneyGram, etc), as well as transportation and initial vet fees. Once the money is picked up by the scammer, the transaction is completely untraceable and they disappear. There is no puppy.
The scammers are not targeting everyone as their victim. They only want to spend their time on those animal lovers who have a trusting enough nature and want the animal so much that they will pay all those fees upfront, without seeing the animal live or the person who is selling it.
One way to avoid this scam is to just never agree to use wire transfers for payment. Use something more reliable like your credit card or paypal (but only to a verified account on paypal).
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Bills
These are received both in people's regular postal mailbox as well as their email boxes. This scam targets people who are processing a lot of invoices and do not look carefully at what those invoices are, or they are processing invoices for someone else (like an elderly relative). Despicable.
The Central California chapter of the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to not respond to bogus invoices for payment that have been sent to homes throughout the United States. The notices are sent by several companies calling themselves U.S. Telecom, UST Dry Utilities,UST Inc. and UST Development Inc., and appear to be legitimate bills that need to be paid, the BBB said. “It’s targeted to people who are receiving a lot of invoices anyway. They’re sending it to people hoping that you’ll just be paying your bills and push it through,” said Blair Looney, chief executive of the chapter. Anyone who receives a bill from those companies should notify the BBB or law enforcement, Looney said.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Internet Scam: Online Auto Scams
This type of scam fits under other scam strategies I've discussed in the past but I'll separate it out because of the niche nature of this one.
Here's how it works:
Scammers pretend to be either Kelley Blue Book agents or possibly a person moving out of town and needing to sell a car quickly before they leave. Like other scams, the criminal sets up a persona that helps them appear legitimate.
The price for the vehicle is usually at a great discount, too good to pass up (that's a red flag. When it seems too good to be true, it IS too good to be true!) When a buyer shows interest in the vehicle, they are asked to send a deposit to a third party to hold while the inspection takes place. Here's the main red flag to look for - they will ALWAYS ask this be sent via wire transfer, like Western Union or MoneyGram. Do not do money transfers online EVER and you'll be a lot safer. Unfortunately, for those victims that do send the money, there is no legitimate third party. Once the scammer collects the deposit, the transaction is completely untraceable and the victim is left without their money or a car.
In 2011, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 4,066 complaints from victims of auto-auction fraud. The total financial cost to these victims was more than $8 million, with the average loss being $2,000 per victim. The calls reporting these scams averaged two per hour.
That's insane! We need to bring these numbers down by educating as many people as possible to not do wire transfers online, as a starting point.
Here's how it works:
Scammers pretend to be either Kelley Blue Book agents or possibly a person moving out of town and needing to sell a car quickly before they leave. Like other scams, the criminal sets up a persona that helps them appear legitimate.
The price for the vehicle is usually at a great discount, too good to pass up (that's a red flag. When it seems too good to be true, it IS too good to be true!) When a buyer shows interest in the vehicle, they are asked to send a deposit to a third party to hold while the inspection takes place. Here's the main red flag to look for - they will ALWAYS ask this be sent via wire transfer, like Western Union or MoneyGram. Do not do money transfers online EVER and you'll be a lot safer. Unfortunately, for those victims that do send the money, there is no legitimate third party. Once the scammer collects the deposit, the transaction is completely untraceable and the victim is left without their money or a car.
In 2011, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 4,066 complaints from victims of auto-auction fraud. The total financial cost to these victims was more than $8 million, with the average loss being $2,000 per victim. The calls reporting these scams averaged two per hour.
That's insane! We need to bring these numbers down by educating as many people as possible to not do wire transfers online, as a starting point.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Internet Scam News: U.S. SAFE WEB Act Bill Introduced
Okay, we're making a little political progress. At least we have some indication the people of congress are able to actually do *something*! Not that this news bit is a result, it is only the first step, but that step has to be taken. Now let's hope they can get it to the floor for a vote.
Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) teamed up to introduce a bill Thursday that would protect consumers from online fraud.
Pryor and Ayotte said they were concerned that current tools used to combat global Internet scams are set to expire next year. The Undertaking Spam, Spyware and Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond Borders Act (U.S. SAFE WEB Act) will extend current authorities until 2020.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Internet Scam News: Researchers Take Down Grum Spambot
I find the good news too rare and a drop in the bucket, but I always like to highlight when some progress is made, even if temporarily, against the spammers and scammers. It just feels good.
Check out this newsclip. And it was not the authorities but researchers who chased them down. Yea for researchers and security experts!! Or as the brazilians would say, SCORRRRRRRRE!
Check out this newsclip. And it was not the authorities but researchers who chased them down. Yea for researchers and security experts!! Or as the brazilians would say, SCORRRRRRRRE!
If you notice a huge drop in the amount of pharmaceutical spam you're receiving, you're not imagining things. Security researchers say they were able to take down "Grum", the spam server behind about 18 percent of global spam.
The process began when researchers blocked the botnet's command servers in the Netherlands and Panama on Tuesday. Grum's administrators acted quickly to restore the server, and shortly thereafter had set up new command servers in Russia and Ukraine. Researchers were still hot on their trail, and Militpas, Calif.-based security firm FireEye along with UK-based anti-spam group SpamHaus worked with Russian security experts to take down Grum again on Wednesday morning.
Researchers worked with ISPs hosting these servers to cut their Internet access off, effectively killing them and orphaning the zombie computers that they control.
Grum's reach is immense: some 120,000 IP addresses were known to be sending spam before the researcher's action. That had been reduced to some 21,505 known spamming IPs after the takedown. It is thought the rest of these IPs will stop sending spam as they no longer have any active control.
This week's actions are important overall in the fight against spam because it shows that countries that normally have been viewed as "safe havens" for spammers are now taking a role in the fight against the problem.
"There are no longer any safe havens", FireEye researcher Alif Mushtaq says. "Most of the spam botnets that used to keep their CnCs in the USA and Europe have moved to countries like Panama, Russia, and Ukraine thinking that no one can touch them in these comfort zones. We have proven them wrong this time".
While there still remain several active botnets out there sending quite a bit of pharmaceutical spam, and Grum itself is not dead yet, this week's effort sends a message to spammers worldwide. You can run, but you can't hide -- and now the places where you thought you were safe are not so safe anymore.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Internet Scam: 2012 Olympic Scams
No surprise but scammers have gotten an early jump on beginning their 2012 Olympics scam campaigns. It's almost like they've begun their holiday shopping. But in a mad way.
High on the scammer's preference list will be emails pretending to leverage well-known brands associated with the Olympics, such as Coca Cola, Microsoft and Nokia. The scammers will use any names that help make their email look like a legitimate Olympics Sponsor email.
The e-mails are typically disguised as lottery and sweepstakes promotions, and claim to offer cash prizes in exchange for personal details. They inform the recipients that they have won a substantial amount of money and to contact the lottery manager. The victims are then asked to pay "processing fees" or "transfer charges" for the winnings, which of course don't exist.
In some cases, the scammers even go as to ask for a copy of your passport, national ID, or driver's license. Once they have your personal information, they can plan out further identity theft activities.
While the attacks come less than two weeks before the 2012 Olympics, this is just the start. I completely expect to see bogus pages where people will be lured to in order to get competition results, where scammers will also attempt to collect personal information. And don't forget their favorite scams to pretend to sell discounted tickets to the games (that don't exist) or offers of free merchandise, exclusive videos or even alleged breaking news could infect computers with viruses or programs known as malware. Hackers can place malicious links on search result pages for certain key words. Smart phones, tablets, and other wireless devices are also vulnerable to the viruses and financial scams.
The closer we get to the opening ceremonies, and even during the Games, expect to see a lot more such scams and spam.
Scared yet? You'll have to remember to use lots of your scammer bug spray. Just be careful what you click on and who you send money to during this time.
I'll continue to report on what I see here as scams are revealed. If you get any of these scams, feel free to email them to me and I'll post them so others can be alerted.
High on the scammer's preference list will be emails pretending to leverage well-known brands associated with the Olympics, such as Coca Cola, Microsoft and Nokia. The scammers will use any names that help make their email look like a legitimate Olympics Sponsor email.
The e-mails are typically disguised as lottery and sweepstakes promotions, and claim to offer cash prizes in exchange for personal details. They inform the recipients that they have won a substantial amount of money and to contact the lottery manager. The victims are then asked to pay "processing fees" or "transfer charges" for the winnings, which of course don't exist.
In some cases, the scammers even go as to ask for a copy of your passport, national ID, or driver's license. Once they have your personal information, they can plan out further identity theft activities.
While the attacks come less than two weeks before the 2012 Olympics, this is just the start. I completely expect to see bogus pages where people will be lured to in order to get competition results, where scammers will also attempt to collect personal information. And don't forget their favorite scams to pretend to sell discounted tickets to the games (that don't exist) or offers of free merchandise, exclusive videos or even alleged breaking news could infect computers with viruses or programs known as malware. Hackers can place malicious links on search result pages for certain key words. Smart phones, tablets, and other wireless devices are also vulnerable to the viruses and financial scams.
The closer we get to the opening ceremonies, and even during the Games, expect to see a lot more such scams and spam.
Scared yet? You'll have to remember to use lots of your scammer bug spray. Just be careful what you click on and who you send money to during this time.
I'll continue to report on what I see here as scams are revealed. If you get any of these scams, feel free to email them to me and I'll post them so others can be alerted.
Cross Border Fraud
It doesn't surprise me that scammers come from locations outside the U.S. That's what makes it harder to find and prosecute them. It happens but not very often. Here are some statistics that reflect the problem of scammers outside the U.S. targeting victims inside the U.S. These statistics represent "foreign businesses" so it doesn't even include all the scammers where their address could not be determined (I acutally think that is most scams - want scammer actually wants to be found?), scammers just pretending to buy something or the whole inheritance scam.
Recent FTC statistics suggest:
- Between 2006 and 2011, almost half a million U.S. consumers (471,014) complained about transactions involving over $1.4 billion paid to businesses in other countries.
- The number of U.S. consumer complaints against foreign businesses exceeded 100,000 in 2011 alone.
- Cross-border complaints have accounted for more than 10% of all Consumer Sentinel fraud complaints every year since 2000, with a high of 22% in 2006 and 13% for each of the last three years. These numbers likely understate the scope of the problem, as this complaint count includes only those instances where consumers report a foreign address.
- U.S. consumers complain about foreign businesses from an increasingly broad range of countries. In 2002 over 55% of such complaints were about Canadian businesses; in 2011 over 85% were about businesses in other foreign countries.
Recent FTC statistics suggest:
- Between 2006 and 2011, almost half a million U.S. consumers (471,014) complained about transactions involving over $1.4 billion paid to businesses in other countries.
- The number of U.S. consumer complaints against foreign businesses exceeded 100,000 in 2011 alone.
- Cross-border complaints have accounted for more than 10% of all Consumer Sentinel fraud complaints every year since 2000, with a high of 22% in 2006 and 13% for each of the last three years. These numbers likely understate the scope of the problem, as this complaint count includes only those instances where consumers report a foreign address.
- U.S. consumers complain about foreign businesses from an increasingly broad range of countries. In 2002 over 55% of such complaints were about Canadian businesses; in 2011 over 85% were about businesses in other foreign countries.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Internet Scam: Facebook Modeling Ads
There is a scam rolling around Facebook with modeling ads that are targeting young girls, trying to get them to pose nude. this has got to be coming from the lowest of low scammers. I bet the police are going to jump on investigating this one.
The ads are pretending to represent actual modeling agencies and it directs users to a "phishing" bogus page that looks like the real modeling agencies' website pages. There is an application to fill out and it gathers all kind of information that the scammer can later use for identity theft but in these cases, the scammer uses the information at first to keep in touch with the victim and get them to send photos of themselves, first of their hands and feet, and then of them in lingerie. In some cases, I suspect these are not scammers, per se, but just perves.
Hope law enforcement jumps on this one.
Real modeling agencies don't go online looking for models. And they don't ask you to send photos without setting up an appointment to see you live. Do your research, call the agency on the phone to verify they have advertised in this way (it's likely they will tell they have not), and make sure some trusted adult in your life knows about this and helps you verify if it is real or a scam.
The ads are pretending to represent actual modeling agencies and it directs users to a "phishing" bogus page that looks like the real modeling agencies' website pages. There is an application to fill out and it gathers all kind of information that the scammer can later use for identity theft but in these cases, the scammer uses the information at first to keep in touch with the victim and get them to send photos of themselves, first of their hands and feet, and then of them in lingerie. In some cases, I suspect these are not scammers, per se, but just perves.
Hope law enforcement jumps on this one.
Real modeling agencies don't go online looking for models. And they don't ask you to send photos without setting up an appointment to see you live. Do your research, call the agency on the phone to verify they have advertised in this way (it's likely they will tell they have not), and make sure some trusted adult in your life knows about this and helps you verify if it is real or a scam.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Internet Scam: Posting Your Debit / Credit Card Online
I can file this one under, "What were you thinking?????"
There is a page now on Facebook (I'm not going to point you to it) that is collecting up postings they find on Facebook of people who are posting photos of their actual debit or credit card - usually to show they got their new card or something like that. But really? Did they not think scammers would be shocked to see how easy they have made it for them to steal their card number? Do they think the scammers are not on Facebook looking for ways to scam users ALL the time?
Fortunately, the above mentioned (but not revealed) page began shaming users into removing the photo of their card and some even deleted their account - but as we all kind of suspect... nothing is really completely deleted on Facebook.
C'mon people - think!
There is a page now on Facebook (I'm not going to point you to it) that is collecting up postings they find on Facebook of people who are posting photos of their actual debit or credit card - usually to show they got their new card or something like that. But really? Did they not think scammers would be shocked to see how easy they have made it for them to steal their card number? Do they think the scammers are not on Facebook looking for ways to scam users ALL the time?
Fortunately, the above mentioned (but not revealed) page began shaming users into removing the photo of their card and some even deleted their account - but as we all kind of suspect... nothing is really completely deleted on Facebook.
C'mon people - think!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Book: Amazon Review
It is a special feeling when you finally get that book done, all edited and formatted, and uploaded to Amazon to be reviewed and have a proof copy printed. I procrastinated over that step, looking over and over again to make sure every last mistake had been found and corrected, knowing ultimately it is likely some mistake will slip through no matter what.
Although I published a book back in 1995, this current project is my first experience with all the new things available to authors in order to self-publish. It is still a bit of the wild west and it reminds me of the old days when personal computers first came out and there were a half dozen different operating systems all competing and so software had to be written to work on at least the ones that had the most market share. With ebooks, there is still a need to provide pretty distinct formatting for PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and then your printed version (which gets uploaded as a PDF or DOC file). And then I have EPUB for Smashwords, which has its own requirements of referencing them in the disclaimers/copyright section and a different EPUB for my website, etc. I suspect eventually everyone is going to standardize on one format, which is looking like it is going to be EPUB, but until then, the process is a bit more complex than it needs to be.
Still, I woke up this morning, knowing that file for the printed book is done and uploaded and it feels great. I feel lighter. I have a lot of work still to do (go back and make sure all my ebook files are all clean for when i upload them), press releases, etc but now my attention can begin to turn more fully towards letting people know the book exists.
Oh, I should say what the book is again. It is called Top 10 Email Scams and I wrote it as part of my continuing campaign to spread the word online about Internet Scams so that we can all reduce the number of people actually losing money and their identity and credit card numbers to these scammers. This is Volume 1 of a multi-part series. Volume 2 will take a look at more email scams (because there are certainly more than the top ten), and Volume 3 will go more into depth on the scams found on social media sites like Craigslist, Facebook, eBay, Pinterest, etc.
Top 10 Email Scams is available now as an ebook (your choice of .pdf, .epub, or .mobi file format) from ktmobooks.com/store. It will retail for $9.99 but I am offering an automatic 15% off during my "pre-launch" time before it appears on Amazon, which the target date is August 1, 2012. The printed version of the book will be sold through Amazon and I also expected that to be ready to go by August 1st.
I look forward to hearing about your experiences with online scams and all of us posting and helping to alert others before they become victims.
Although I published a book back in 1995, this current project is my first experience with all the new things available to authors in order to self-publish. It is still a bit of the wild west and it reminds me of the old days when personal computers first came out and there were a half dozen different operating systems all competing and so software had to be written to work on at least the ones that had the most market share. With ebooks, there is still a need to provide pretty distinct formatting for PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and then your printed version (which gets uploaded as a PDF or DOC file). And then I have EPUB for Smashwords, which has its own requirements of referencing them in the disclaimers/copyright section and a different EPUB for my website, etc. I suspect eventually everyone is going to standardize on one format, which is looking like it is going to be EPUB, but until then, the process is a bit more complex than it needs to be.
Still, I woke up this morning, knowing that file for the printed book is done and uploaded and it feels great. I feel lighter. I have a lot of work still to do (go back and make sure all my ebook files are all clean for when i upload them), press releases, etc but now my attention can begin to turn more fully towards letting people know the book exists.
Oh, I should say what the book is again. It is called Top 10 Email Scams and I wrote it as part of my continuing campaign to spread the word online about Internet Scams so that we can all reduce the number of people actually losing money and their identity and credit card numbers to these scammers. This is Volume 1 of a multi-part series. Volume 2 will take a look at more email scams (because there are certainly more than the top ten), and Volume 3 will go more into depth on the scams found on social media sites like Craigslist, Facebook, eBay, Pinterest, etc.
Top 10 Email Scams is available now as an ebook (your choice of .pdf, .epub, or .mobi file format) from ktmobooks.com/store. It will retail for $9.99 but I am offering an automatic 15% off during my "pre-launch" time before it appears on Amazon, which the target date is August 1, 2012. The printed version of the book will be sold through Amazon and I also expected that to be ready to go by August 1st.
I look forward to hearing about your experiences with online scams and all of us posting and helping to alert others before they become victims.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Internet Scam: FBI Cyber Crime Scam
Here is a beneficiary scam email that almost overuses all the phrases they could think of to make this email sound legitimate: FBI, Robert Mueller (I wonder how he feels about this), the Cyber Crime Division, Internet Fraud Complaint Center, J. Edgar Hoover - egads. But it all comes down to the same scam steps. They get lots of your identity information and then ask for some fee to release the funds. It's always the same thing.
Return-Path: admin@blink.com.kw
Reply-To: [info@cbnatmcarddept.net.tf]
From: "ROBERT S. MUELLER, DIRECTOR"[admin@blink.com.kw]
Subject: Federal Bureau of Investigation..Attention Beneficiary
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Counter-terrorism Division and Cyber Crime Division
J. Edgar. Hoover Building Washington DC
ROBERT S. MUELLER,
Attention Beneficiary,
Records show that you are among one of the individuals and organizations who are yet to receive their overdue payment from overseas which includes those of Lottery/Gambling, Contract and Inheritance. Through our Fraud Monitory Unit we have noticed that you have been transacting with some impostors and fraudsters who have been impersonating the likes of Prof. Soludo /Mr. Lamido Sanusi of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Bode Williams, Frank, Anderson, none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks, Kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen and some impostors claiming to be The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Cyber Crime Division of the FBI gathered information from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) on how some people have lost outrageous sums of money to these impostors. As a result of this, we hereby advise you to stop communication with any one not referred to you by us. We have negotiated with the Federal Ministry of Finance that your payment totaling (Five Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars). will be released to you via a custom pin based ATM card with a maximum withdrawal limit of $15,000 a day which is powered by Visa Card and can be used anywhere in the world where you see a Visa Card Logo on the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).
We guarantee receipt of your payment. This is as a result of the mandate from US Government to make sure all debts owed to citizens of American and also Asia and Europe which includes Inheritance, Contract, Gambling/Lottery etc are been cleared. Below are few list of tracking numbers you can track from Delivery Company website to confirm people like you who have received their payment successfully.
Name LINDBERG:DHL Tracking Number 1426425615 (http://www.dhl.com/)
Name :PITELIS :UPS Tracking Number h8433223480 (http://www.ups.com/)
Name: GERALD D. WARNER FedEx Tracking number 875777537332 (http://www.fedex.com/)
To redeem your funds, you are hereby advised to contact the ATM Card Center via email for their requirement to proceed and procure your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order on your behalf which will cost you $280 Usd only and nothing more as everything else has been taken care of by the Federal Government including taxes, custom paper and clearance duty so all you will ever need to pay is $280only.
Dr.Lord Reuben (ATM Card Center Director)
Central Bank of Nigeria
Central Business District,
Cad astral Zone, federal
Capital Territory,
Nigeria.
ATM Card Center Director Dr.Lord Reuben
Email: info@cbnatmcarddept.net.tf
Do contact Dr.Lord Reuben of the ATM Card Center via his contact details above and furnish him with your details as listed below:
FULL NAMES: __________________________________
DELIVERY ADDRESS FOR ATM CARD: __________________
SEX: _______________
DATE OF BIRTH: __________________
OCCUPATION: __________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER: _____________________
EMAIL ADDRESS: _____________________
On contacting him with your details your file would be updated and he will be sending you the payment information in which you will use in making payment of $280 via Money Gram or Western Union Money Transfer for the procurement of your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order, after which the delivery of your ATM card will be effected to your designated home address without any further delay, extra fee.
ROBERT S. MUELLER, DIRECTOR
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
Note: Disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM card, you are hereby advice only to be in contact with Mr. Dr.Lord Reuben of the ATM card center who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your payment and forward any emails you get from impostors to this office so we could act upon it immediately. Help stop cyber crime.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Internet Scam: Lost Passport Scam
This one is also referred to as the "Stranded Scam". This will come from someone you know - either a friend or at least an acquaintance that has your email address in their contact list.
What happens is that the scammer will get access to that person's email account, typically their yahoo, gmail, or hotmail.com. They do this by using software that goes through all kinds of permutations of password combinations and once in awhile they will hit it right. The other more common way is they used "phishing" technique and gotten that person to reveal their password.
Once the scammer gets into the account, he sends out an email to everyone in that person's contact list. So it will look like it is coming from someone you know because it IS coming from the account of someone you know.
The email will have some story about they are traveling and their passport and cash got stolen and asking you to wire them emergency money to get home. You would not believe how many people actually do this. Who is there to pick up the cash? The scammer, of course, who then disappears and is untraceable.
My advice - if you get one of these emails, just CALL your friend before wiring any money and if you can't get a hold of them... don't wire money. Decide you are going to speak to them verbally before taking any action.
What happens is that the scammer will get access to that person's email account, typically their yahoo, gmail, or hotmail.com. They do this by using software that goes through all kinds of permutations of password combinations and once in awhile they will hit it right. The other more common way is they used "phishing" technique and gotten that person to reveal their password.
Once the scammer gets into the account, he sends out an email to everyone in that person's contact list. So it will look like it is coming from someone you know because it IS coming from the account of someone you know.
The email will have some story about they are traveling and their passport and cash got stolen and asking you to wire them emergency money to get home. You would not believe how many people actually do this. Who is there to pick up the cash? The scammer, of course, who then disappears and is untraceable.
My advice - if you get one of these emails, just CALL your friend before wiring any money and if you can't get a hold of them... don't wire money. Decide you are going to speak to them verbally before taking any action.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Help Desk Support
Here is a different twist on the fake Police Threat Scam (in which a malware pops up a screen saying the police or FBI have determined there are copyright or pornography violations on your computer and it can be "cleaned" for a fee).
In the Fake Help Desk Support Scam, the victim will receive a call from "Microsoft" or some well-known virus protection software company, saying the victim's computer has a virus and for a fee, they will be able to clean it off their system for them. They are general about what virus at first, because they are testing the victim to see if they believe the story. They are seeking those vulnerable people who are not technical and would otherwise not know if they have a virus or not AND believe some company was nice enough to call them and offer to help fix it. That is who they are targeting. They are after three things at one time - the cash, getting access to the computer for identity theft, and being able to install malware on the victim's system that does things for them in the background, like send out spam or infect other computers.
This is not a new scam but continues to be a successful one with victims losing thousands of dollars at a pop sometimes so we are posting an alert a separate alert on it.
Real Help Desk Support people do not call people who have not first called in to ask for help.
In the Fake Help Desk Support Scam, the victim will receive a call from "Microsoft" or some well-known virus protection software company, saying the victim's computer has a virus and for a fee, they will be able to clean it off their system for them. They are general about what virus at first, because they are testing the victim to see if they believe the story. They are seeking those vulnerable people who are not technical and would otherwise not know if they have a virus or not AND believe some company was nice enough to call them and offer to help fix it. That is who they are targeting. They are after three things at one time - the cash, getting access to the computer for identity theft, and being able to install malware on the victim's system that does things for them in the background, like send out spam or infect other computers.
This is not a new scam but continues to be a successful one with victims losing thousands of dollars at a pop sometimes so we are posting an alert a separate alert on it.
Real Help Desk Support people do not call people who have not first called in to ask for help.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Job Employment Scam
Given so many people are out of work and/or need extra money, this scam really has seen a spike in victims. There are many variations and I'll post examples as I run across them, but typically the fake job opening is for a "payroll processor" or "shipping assistant" or "mystery shopper". The goal is to get the victim to either receive goods (which are stolen using a stolen credit card) and re-ship them elsewhere (and so the victim is now criminally handling and moving stolen goods) or they may just want the victim to move counterfeit money orders or money stolen from other victims who have taken the fake money orders as real and then sent their real money. Often the "employers" (i.e. scammers) will use the victim right up until the victim is expecting to be paid for their work, and then the scammer will dump them and get another victim to move stuff for them.
Scammers also use this scam for Identity Theft, if the victim has given up a lot of sensitive personal information, thinking they are giving it to an employer.
Here is a newsclip that is hard to believe the woman did not know she was doing something wrong. The scammers usually don't get the victim to actually *produce* the counterfeit money orders, just move them around.
Scammers also use this scam for Identity Theft, if the victim has given up a lot of sensitive personal information, thinking they are giving it to an employer.
Here is a newsclip that is hard to believe the woman did not know she was doing something wrong. The scammers usually don't get the victim to actually *produce* the counterfeit money orders, just move them around.
BUFFALO -- The wife of the Buffalo Common Council's majority leader has avoided prison but must pay $20,000 in restitution for her role in a counterfeit check scheme.
Jayme Smith was sentenced in federal court in Buffalo Monday after pleading guilty in April to bank fraud. The wife of Common Council Majority Leader Demone Smith could have gotten up to three years in prison, but received two years of supervised released.
Smith's lawyer says Smith was the victim of Internet scammers who steered her to create counterfeit checks from her home computer and mail them to various people after she responded to a Craigslist ad for a payroll-processing clerk.
Smith told the judge she never intended to commit a crime.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Internet Scam: Utility Bills
If scammers are good at anything (it certainly isn't how to format their emails), they are good at seeing an opportunity.
With the record heat wave in most of the U.S., rising utility bills, and a poor economy, scammers have been rushing in like so many cockroaches, to take advantage.
People are receiving emails and phone calls pitching a federal government 'utility payment assistance program'. It is sometimes described as a bailout program authorized by the Obama Administration, and thus this scam has also been called the "Obama utility bill scam". Victims are given bank account and routing numbers to use when paying their bills online, but only after they "register" by surrendering their Social Security numbers and other personal information. This how the scammer can then steal your identity. The account numbers are bogus, no one is paying your bill but the utility company may initially accept and credit the payment, but then realize the account is bogus and withdraw that credit to the customer.
10,000 people in New Jersey alone fell for this scam over recent weeks, but the problem is wide-spread, occurring in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, across New England as well as California and Utah. I'm guessing any state that experiences any heat is eventually going to run across this scam.
There is no such program but if you get one of these emails or phone calls, call the utility company directly to verify BEFORE giving anyone your information. But really, there is no bailout program to pay your utility bill.
With the record heat wave in most of the U.S., rising utility bills, and a poor economy, scammers have been rushing in like so many cockroaches, to take advantage.
People are receiving emails and phone calls pitching a federal government 'utility payment assistance program'. It is sometimes described as a bailout program authorized by the Obama Administration, and thus this scam has also been called the "Obama utility bill scam". Victims are given bank account and routing numbers to use when paying their bills online, but only after they "register" by surrendering their Social Security numbers and other personal information. This how the scammer can then steal your identity. The account numbers are bogus, no one is paying your bill but the utility company may initially accept and credit the payment, but then realize the account is bogus and withdraw that credit to the customer.
10,000 people in New Jersey alone fell for this scam over recent weeks, but the problem is wide-spread, occurring in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, across New England as well as California and Utah. I'm guessing any state that experiences any heat is eventually going to run across this scam.
There is no such program but if you get one of these emails or phone calls, call the utility company directly to verify BEFORE giving anyone your information. But really, there is no bailout program to pay your utility bill.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Internet Scam: Loan Intimidation
This scam uses fear and intimidation to work. People generally want to do the right thing, and scammers generally want to take advantage of that.
Almost 10,000 loan-intimidation scams were reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center) in 2011, costing victims more than $8 million. That's a lot of money. According to the IC3 report, “Victims often relay that they had completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls began.” More than 50% of the victims tend to be under the age of 40.
How this scam works:
The potential victim will receive an email or phone call from a person who appears to be from a reputable government agency, company, or collections agency. They will tell the victim they are delinquent on a loan. Often the scammer will have correct social security numbers, date of birth, employment information (which they've gathered via identity theft techniques or purchased from other scammers). This will often trick the victim into believing this call or email must be legitimate when it is not.
Then the scammers may get aggressive - calling your home repeatedly, your work, and even relatives threatening legal action, arrests, and in extreme cases even physical violence. And all of this is made up. Scammers lie about everything. It's all part of their scheme to use intimidation to get their victims to act before they can think about what they are doing.
If you are contacted by a scammer that is using this technique and trying to collect a debt that you do not owe, you should:
To read more about how to recognize scams and learn to avoid them (and deal with identity theft), see the series of books on Internet Scams Revealed on KTMObooks.com.
Almost 10,000 loan-intimidation scams were reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center) in 2011, costing victims more than $8 million. That's a lot of money. According to the IC3 report, “Victims often relay that they had completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls began.” More than 50% of the victims tend to be under the age of 40.
How this scam works:
The potential victim will receive an email or phone call from a person who appears to be from a reputable government agency, company, or collections agency. They will tell the victim they are delinquent on a loan. Often the scammer will have correct social security numbers, date of birth, employment information (which they've gathered via identity theft techniques or purchased from other scammers). This will often trick the victim into believing this call or email must be legitimate when it is not.
Then the scammers may get aggressive - calling your home repeatedly, your work, and even relatives threatening legal action, arrests, and in extreme cases even physical violence. And all of this is made up. Scammers lie about everything. It's all part of their scheme to use intimidation to get their victims to act before they can think about what they are doing.
If you are contacted by a scammer that is using this technique and trying to collect a debt that you do not owe, you should:
- NOT send any money to anyone until you've done more research.
- Contact your bank(s) and credit card companies and have your account numbers changed.
- Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.
- File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
- Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger.
To read more about how to recognize scams and learn to avoid them (and deal with identity theft), see the series of books on Internet Scams Revealed on KTMObooks.com.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Lottery
It continues to amaze me how successful this scam is at getting victims who think they've won a lottery that they have never entered (and scammers are really happy when they attract victims who just happened to *have* entered the lottery they are faking).
Here is what one of these fake lottery emails look like:
But here is something good coming out of the news today (scammers are so rarely caught, that I like to highlight when they DO get caught, because it gives me a sense of hope that the problem is being worked on). You can see the scope of just how successful this scam continues to be.
Here is what one of these fake lottery emails look like:
MICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY DEPARTMENT UK
This E-mail sent to you is to inform you that the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the MICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY DEPARTMENT UK has officially cleared you for payment. The original copy of your certificate together with a covering document (Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for Claims) from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through a registered lottery programmes (MICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY DEPARTMENT UK) will be couriered to you as soon as you meet with any of the option listed below, your winnings will be transferred to you immediately.
SHIPMENT AND BILLING
The Lottery certified cheque and documents are packaged to be delivered under one way bill by the contracted Courier Company and are categorized as High priority & Express delivery under applicable laws and regulations. This shipment cannot be delivered to PO boxes or postal codes but to Receiver\'s address. Transit times for delivery of parcels to customers are in working days and are subject to change depending on location of collection and delivery, weight and value. For lightweight shipment, you may be charged for its value as well as dimensional weight rather than its actual weight.
INSURANCE POLICY
This delivery parcel for greater protection has also been insured in accordance with shipping regulations under unlimited liability. This comprehensive cash in transit insurance cover for your consignment has been arranged {for effective and fast customs clearance}.Delivery of parcel/Transfer of winnings commences {1-2 days} after payment covering delivery charges is made.
Whosoever must present the delivery officer identification card regarding to the above names mention. There after you will be given a tracking number to monitor your good on line.You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you. With regards to this, find below options open to you; you are required to select the more convenient.
The options, together with their associated conditions are presented below:
OPTION ONE (SAME DAY DELIVERY)
Handling & Delivery Cost.............£240.00
Insurance....................................... .£230.00
Administrative Charges.................£025.00
Total Cost.......................................£495.00 GBP = $988.034 USD
Length of Days...............................24Hrs
Order Number.........................MS/35468/EGL
OPTION TWO (3-4 DAYS DELIVERY)
Handling & Delivery Cost............ £140.00
Insurance........................................£ 130.00
Admin istrative Charges.................£025.00
Total Cost.......................................£295.00 GBP = $589.553 USD
Length of Days...........................Three-Four Days
Order Number..........................MS/35468/EGL
OPTION THREE (BANK TRANSFER)
The said amount i.e £500,000.00(Five hundred thousand Pounds) will be transfed to your bank account via swift bank transfer. Condition: The cost of COT (commission of transfer) being charged by our transferring bank, which is 0.3% of £500,000.00 which is One Thousand Five Hundred Pounds (i.e £1,500.00GBP ) of the cash being transferred will be paid by you before the transfer can be effected.
Please note that the charges are best substantial because of the insurance cover we have undertaken incase of loss, damage or package breakage of your high priority document. We assume all responsibilities incase of any eventualities. The parcel which is to be delivered to you contains a cheque for the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling which is approximately equal to One Million United States Dollars
The International money transfer company, Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram have been choosen as method of payments for customers, you are to make payment through any regional office close to you. This payment method was adopted to ameliorate and speed up the process of payment and delivery because of its wide network of operation.
Important Note: That your courier charges cannot be deducted from your Winnings due to Article 1186 section 45 subsection 2.3 of Constitution of the United Kingdom as relates to Financial and freight matters, which are duly codified in the United Kingdom law.
Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response within the next 24hrs to this same email address.
We are glad to be of service to you.
MR. JERRY ANTHONY
CUSTOMER SERVICES
SKYLINK COMPANY. INC.
ADDRESS: 256 Fulham Road, Chelsea, LONDON, SW10 0YT.
Email: skylink_delivery@hotmail.com
TEL: +4470-1113-8668, +4470-4574-3744
Nigerian lottery fraud ring busted by Spanish police
A Nigerian fraud ring which tricked some 500 people out of more than a million euros in a year by convincing them they had won the lottery has been busted by Spanish police.
In a case mirroring many others from recent years, police detained six people in Torrejon de Ardoz, near Madrid, and Malaga in southern Spain, on suspicion of working the fraud.
Police said the network fished for victims by mailing out letters, mainly to Italians, claiming the person had won a million euros but needed to advance 4,000 euros in administrative fees to claim the jackpot.
"In 2012 alone nearly 500 victims, mainly Italian citizens, handed over various sums of money," the police said about the network, which they had been investigating since late 2011.
In total, more than 600 people took the bait and called the number on the letter. At the other end a man in Malaga would explain how to proceed with the bank or postal money transfers.
The alleged fraudsters collected the money at the post office with the help of forged passports bearing internet photos of famous stars, including American singer Alicia Keys.
The network then broke off all contact with the victim.
Police seized "800 Nigerian letters ready for posting, 700 envelopes, lists of possible victims" in their search, along with 100 photos destined for passport forgery.
At the time of the arrests in a building in Torrejon de Ardoz, some "tried to flee through the window after flushing a large quantity of drugs down the toilet," the police said, adding the network also trafficked narcotics.
The fraud is only the latest of its kind to hit Spain and other countries in recent years.
In January 2012, Indian police arrested six Nigerian nationals on suspicion of defrauding hundreds through text message and spam email scams with similar lottery claims.
In March 2009, Spanish police arrested 23 people, most of them Nigerians, on suspicion of running an email and letter scam that duped residents in the United States and Europe into believing they were left an inheritance.
One year earlier Spanish police arrested 51 people suspected of running a lottery scam that netted around 40 million euros.
Internet Scam: Mystery Shopper
This scam falls under the fake employment category. You can tell in the below email that there is no eBay Secret Shopper LLC company. Look at the return email address and the from email address.
How these scams work are two fold - one is it is a way for a scammer, under the guise of being an "employer" will collect all kind of inappropriate information, and then use that information to steal your identity. They often ask for your credit card number and then use that to run other scams and purchase stolen goods. Finally, they will scam you out of money, by either asking you to forward payments they've received to other places (asking you to deposit checks, which are fake, and then you forward your money, which is good) or, as mentioned below, telling you that you'll receive funds for doing the shopping - and those funds will be fake money (and typically they will send too much money and ask you to send the rest back to them, using your GOOD money), all via wire transfer which is untraceable once the scammer picks the money up.
Become a mystery shopper? Don't do it!
How these scams work are two fold - one is it is a way for a scammer, under the guise of being an "employer" will collect all kind of inappropriate information, and then use that information to steal your identity. They often ask for your credit card number and then use that to run other scams and purchase stolen goods. Finally, they will scam you out of money, by either asking you to forward payments they've received to other places (asking you to deposit checks, which are fake, and then you forward your money, which is good) or, as mentioned below, telling you that you'll receive funds for doing the shopping - and those funds will be fake money (and typically they will send too much money and ask you to send the rest back to them, using your GOOD money), all via wire transfer which is untraceable once the scammer picks the money up.
Become a mystery shopper? Don't do it!
Reply-To: [rpsunglasses24@gmail.com]
From: "Michael Wallace"[hiring@advertmanagerredbullcarwraping.com]
Subject: eBay Mystery Shopper/Customer Service Evaluator
eBay Secret Shopper LLC,
Are you able, willing and capable, do you have up to three hours spare time weekly, would you like to earn extra income, without affecting your present employment, if so read carefully.
Ebay Secret Shopper® LLC has a mystery shopping assignment in your area, and we would like you to participate, we are accepting application from qualified individuals to become mystery shoppers. It is fun and rewarding, and you choose when and where you want to shop. You are never obligated to accept an assignment. There is no charge to become a shopper and you do not need previous experience. Funds required for the shopping assignment would also be sent to you within a week of application through mail, and you will not use your personal funds.
HOW TO APPLY
===============
* Full Name:
* Address (NO PO BOX):
* City:
* State:
* Zip Code:
* Phone Number:
* Age:
* Occupation:
* Cell:
We await your response and look forward to having you on our team.
Thanks.
Michael Wallace
Hiring Manager
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Craigslist Buyers
Here is an email I just received:
Kathleen,
I just received this email a few days ago... Its normal for me to receive emails about booking tattoos so I went on to start emailing back and fourth. When thing didn't add up and they got irate about me using PayPal for credit card transactions... I started researching online and sure enough there is a scam alert for tattoo artist with the same email going around. It used to be that people would just try and get you to send money to receive a prize...these people just wont give up :(
Yes, this is a scam. The scammer got upset about the paypal angle, because then the scammer can't work the scam. They need a way to get their money from you and be able to disappear. It's likely this one would have worked in that the scammer would have overpaid for the work, saying a wife or assistant made a mistake, and ask for the overage to be sent back to them, via Western Union. They'll pay with fake money but you will send the overage with your good money, and then they disappear. That's how it all works.
Glad to hear you didn't fall for it.
Kathleen,
I just received this email a few days ago... Its normal for me to receive emails about booking tattoos so I went on to start emailing back and fourth. When thing didn't add up and they got irate about me using PayPal for credit card transactions... I started researching online and sure enough there is a scam alert for tattoo artist with the same email going around. It used to be that people would just try and get you to send money to receive a prize...these people just wont give up :(
Hello This is Ben Bruce and i will like to ask if you do dragon tattoo and am hearing impaired...and i want you to draw an Dragon tattoo 4 inch with color on their Back and a maximum of 2 hours on each person and i want you to get back to me with the total estimate for 10 people because i have a party coming up on the 13th of July and i also want you to know that the people who will come to have the tattoo will come with a private transportation driver... and i also want you to know that i will be making full payment with my credit card information to charge for all expenses i want you to get back to me with the type of credit card accepted and i also want you to know that i have attach you the picture of the tattoo... and i would like everyone that is coming to have the same tattoo for all. and i also want you to get back to me with your cell phone number and shop address so that i can have your shop information complete with me so that i can forward to the driver who will drop the people to your shop to have the tattoo.
Thank Ben
Yes, this is a scam. The scammer got upset about the paypal angle, because then the scammer can't work the scam. They need a way to get their money from you and be able to disappear. It's likely this one would have worked in that the scammer would have overpaid for the work, saying a wife or assistant made a mistake, and ask for the overage to be sent back to them, via Western Union. They'll pay with fake money but you will send the overage with your good money, and then they disappear. That's how it all works.
Glad to hear you didn't fall for it.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Internet Scam: Dying Wish Email
Okay, most people would probably pass this email by. But the scammer is not looking for you. They are looking for the more vulnerable - the ones who would read this email and think they would be doing a kind act to help this sick woman out with her dying wish. And people leave money to strangers sometimes, don't they? That's who the scammer is looking for. No one is sick, no one is dying, it's not likely even a woman writing this email. But they will begin to work their victims towards sending money in order to "release" the funds or pay non-existent fees or taxes.
Anyway, here is the woe-is-me sad story of a fake woman dying of cancer. Nice touch of this fake person to invoke the GOD angle...
Anyway, here is the woe-is-me sad story of a fake woman dying of cancer. Nice touch of this fake person to invoke the GOD angle...
Message-ID: [20120704165028.6244.qmail@mmp3502.att-webhosting.com]
From: "MRS. SHERRIE COFFEY" [coffey@egoli-gold.org]
Reply-To: "MRS. SHERRIE COFFEY" [sherriecoffey@rocketmail.com]
To: coffeysherry@yahoo.co.uk
Subject: LAST WISH
Hi,I am Sherrie,
I'm diagnosed with esophageal cancer, because it went unnoticed I have had
to
undergo a laryngectomy.I have decided to donate my money
to you.I am also donating my body after i am gone for research.I want this
last
act of mine to be an offering to GOD and humanity.
send a note back with this ref. SvaSo back so i know you got this.
I know I don't know you. God bless you abundantly,
Sherrie Coffey
Email: sherriecoffey@rocketmail.com
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Internet Scam: Facebook Ex-Friend Phishing Email
I sure hope this scammer copied and pasted this LONG rambling scam email. Phishing (pronounced "fishing") usually takes the form of an email that's been faked to look like its coming from your bank. Or a website that looks like paypal but is not paypal and yet it is asking you to log in, so the scammer can collect up your password and access your paypal account.
The below epic email is also a phishing scam in that it wants to appear to be someone you unfriended on facebook but don't remember. Many of us have so many facebook "friends" and we know they are not actually friends but more an "audience". And yet... I don't know how I feel about this scammer referring to me as "babe". Did we have some kind physical encounter I don't recall? Were we inebriated? Funny.
Of course, the scammer doesn't care about me. It is easy for me to see it is a scam (and was taken a bit back by the length of it), so they don't want to spend their precious time on me. They are seeking the clueless - who maybe does get inebriated often, has some memory loss, and probably way too many facebook friends, some of which they have unfriended. They are seeking the people who will fall all the way through this scam.
Fortunately, I don't have any friends on facebook who call me "babe". Any takers? [Smile!]
The below epic email is also a phishing scam in that it wants to appear to be someone you unfriended on facebook but don't remember. Many of us have so many facebook "friends" and we know they are not actually friends but more an "audience". And yet... I don't know how I feel about this scammer referring to me as "babe". Did we have some kind physical encounter I don't recall? Were we inebriated? Funny.
Of course, the scammer doesn't care about me. It is easy for me to see it is a scam (and was taken a bit back by the length of it), so they don't want to spend their precious time on me. They are seeking the clueless - who maybe does get inebriated often, has some memory loss, and probably way too many facebook friends, some of which they have unfriended. They are seeking the people who will fall all the way through this scam.
Fortunately, I don't have any friends on facebook who call me "babe". Any takers? [Smile!]
Received From: ekpcncpc@aatslwgt.com
Message-Id: [20110801568324.JvisKYDgRFuc@ovdyaejj.com]
From: "Facebook" [dgaijulay@fcuhnohgfzfvx.com]
Reply-To: [mywvjkhuzxgsw@hdrwdcyiizzxcgbo.com]
Subject: Re:
BABE... i guess your not getting any of my email huh? ive been
tryign to email u so many times but this dam laptop is such a piece of
garbage and keeps freezing.. anyways how u been?
In case u dont know who this is its ME Adriana.. we used to chat a bit
on facebook and then I think u deleted me :( haha.. anyways guess what...
I got 2 things to tell u.. both good news.. 1) im single now.. yup me
and my bf broke up about 3 months ago... and 2) guess where im moving?
RIGHT EFFING NEAR U.. lol... ur actually the only person im gonna know
there.. well 3 cousins too but i cant chill with them lol..
I remember when we chatted u told me u thought i was cute and u wanted
to chill so now we finally can HAHA! im kinda scared to move.. im hoping
this email addy is still the one you use and u can chat with me ebfore
i get there.. maybe even help me move my shit in...are u still on facebook?
i cudnt find ui was soo confused...anyways im gonna need someone to show
me the town and take me out so u better be around bebe...
we only chatted a couple times but i remember thinking to myself i
wanted to get ot know u better when i was single..a nd i thoguth u were
cute too but cudnt tell u cause i wasnt single lol...ok so more info about
me.. well im 23.. virgo.. love the outdoors and love to socialize, go out for
drinks, restaurants, movies etc.. travel.. i have a lil kitty named
BOO and i luv her to death... uhhh oh im a super horny gurl too but
every gurl is they just wont admit it. so ilove watching p0rn and all
that.. love sex etc blah blah blah...who doesnt..
I really hope we get a chance to chat for a bit either online or on the
fone before i get there enxt week.. i hope u remmeber me and still wanna
chill and arent married yet lol.. OH YA also.. i need to find a job when
i get there..
do u have any hookups or know anybody hiring? id LOVE to work in a bar
or osmehting like that...really anythgin cause my current job is fun
and all.. and technically i CUD keep doign it but i want a change.. i
currently work from home and well thats cool but i need ot be out
meeting people.. oh wait. i dont think i ever actually told u what i
did? hmm shud i......???? ok WELLLL... and dont get all weirded out
on me.. i work on a webcam chat community site and i get paid to chat
with people and get naked HHAHA... BOMB right :)? I KNOW.. like i
figure iim horny anyways why not get paid to chat with people and play
with myself heheh...anyways i hope u dont look down on that and NO
THATS NOT WHY IM CONTACTING U RELAX URSELF lol... i actually need help
once i move and i remembered u live there so im reaching out....like i
said before this computer is a complete piece of CRAP and freezes NON
STOP.. ive tried ot send this email to u maybe 3 times already and im
hopign this time i can hit SEND before i run into trouble lol..
ANYWAYS.. heres the deal....every month natalie (my boss) gives each
of us 3 VIP codes to give out to whoever we want.. so with this code u
can lgoin to watch me at work for free and dont have to pay like
everyone else... the only way i can give u one of the codes (so we can
chat) is if you absolutey DO NOT give it out to anyone else and u ONLY
USE IT FOR URSELF... i only get 3 a month and she gets pissed if more
than 3 people use them so DONT SHARE IT MISTER... i figured u cud
always email me back instead but my email account doesnt even let me
login half the time.. so the bets palce ot chat me is my chat room...
if theres anyone else logged in when u sign in ill boot them out.. but
remember DONT SHARE THIS PASSWORD PLEASE BABE IM BEGGING U.. I TRUST
U... im online most of the day now to try and save money for my move..
also since im in such a huge debt already form my student loan :( I
really thingk we need to chat before i get there and make sure u evern
remember me hahha.. anyways ive rambled on and on now and ur probably
soooo annnoyed with me so ill stop now.. im gonna go start work.. i
really hope u come chat me. it wud make my day and releive a lot of my
stress about the move... REALLY i mean that....anyways once i see u in
insdie ill shoot u myc ell number and u can gimme yours.. if u dont
wanna come chat i understand but its really the only palce to find me
now days.. if u email me abck ill probably get it once i get there
after my internet is setup so about 2-3 weeks fomr now.. but im hopign
to see u in my chat room.. rmemeber its 100% free with this code im
gonna give u.. just DONT GIVE IT OUT OR ILL KICK U IN THE BALLS
INSTEAD OF LICK U IN THE BALLS WHEN IS EE U hahahahha...k babe im out
for now... chat ya soon.. kisses xoxo Adriana
FREE VIP BYPASS LINK ------>> http://bit.ly/OMxplxuy
Internet Scam: Rental Scams on Craigslist
Here's a classic internet scam on Craigslist that someone sent me today.
Scammers will post an ad on Craigslist for a rental available. They will typically leave an email contact or phone number (but then say only "text messages"). The ads will often have matching photos of real addresses and lots of details about that place. It looks real. The places they list for rent are not owned by the scammer nor do they have any legitimate ability to rent the home or apartment. The scammer is most likely not even local. They like to hide and do their scamming activities in foreign countries where the authorities can't go after them.
Once a person replies to the ad, the scammer will then go into some convoluted story about some kind of hardship and why the place has to be rented immediately (how the scammer moves the scam into urgency so the victim will act without thinking much about what they are doing). In this urgent state, the scammer will then try and collect the rent deposit and first month's rent via wire transfer (such as Western Union or MoneyGram). Some even try and get the victim to send the scammer a prepaid credit card through a service like green dot. In return for sending the money, the scammer tells the victim they will receive a package giving them access to the home or apartment and all they need to do to complete the agreement and receive the package is to send an ADDITIONAL month of rent (how greedy scammers are).
To avoid this scam, only deal with local people and only rent places that you can physically inspect BEFORE giving anyone any money. And never use wire transfer or send anyone a prepaid credit card for payment.
Scammers will post an ad on Craigslist for a rental available. They will typically leave an email contact or phone number (but then say only "text messages"). The ads will often have matching photos of real addresses and lots of details about that place. It looks real. The places they list for rent are not owned by the scammer nor do they have any legitimate ability to rent the home or apartment. The scammer is most likely not even local. They like to hide and do their scamming activities in foreign countries where the authorities can't go after them.
Once a person replies to the ad, the scammer will then go into some convoluted story about some kind of hardship and why the place has to be rented immediately (how the scammer moves the scam into urgency so the victim will act without thinking much about what they are doing). In this urgent state, the scammer will then try and collect the rent deposit and first month's rent via wire transfer (such as Western Union or MoneyGram). Some even try and get the victim to send the scammer a prepaid credit card through a service like green dot. In return for sending the money, the scammer tells the victim they will receive a package giving them access to the home or apartment and all they need to do to complete the agreement and receive the package is to send an ADDITIONAL month of rent (how greedy scammers are).
To avoid this scam, only deal with local people and only rent places that you can physically inspect BEFORE giving anyone any money. And never use wire transfer or send anyone a prepaid credit card for payment.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Internet Scam: Fake Police Threat
Here is a scam that combines the use of a malware virus on your computer and sending cash to a scammer via wire transfer (typically Western Union or MoneyGram, but in this case the scammer was willing to use PayPal [which I think the scammer would have then claimed PayPal wasn't working and move the victim to a more anonymous untraceable service] or UKash). The scammer appeals to the victim's sense of fear of authority (and fear of being accused of viewing pornography online).
POLICE are warning residents to be wary of internet scams following two incidents in Uttlesford in the last month.
In both incidents the victim’s computer screen was locked whilst surfing the internet by a pop-up claiming to be the Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Directorate. The victim was threatened with punishment under copyright law or for searching pornography and asked to pay £100 through Paypal or UKash for the message to disappear.
Sergeant Colin Cox stressed that this is something the Police have never and will never do.
“The police don’t do anything like this,” he said.
“This is not a new crime, it emerged last year and while there have been incidents elsewhere this is the first time it has been reported in Uttlesford.
“I would urge people not to hand over any cash because paying will not fix your computer and you will have to get it repaired which will cost even more.”
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Internet Scam: Nigerian Internet Romance Scam
Here is some good news. Some scammers who actually got caught and indicted (though there is no mention of anything happening to their "Nigeria associates", which is typical). And it is two women, a mother/daughter team.
But these women were not actually participating in a romance scam, their role in the scam was, as stated in the indictment, to receive the stolen money in the U.S. and then reship (thus this part of the scam is known as the Re-Shipping Scam) the money to their associates in Nigeria, as well as places in Ecuador, Great Britain, India, United Arab Emirates and the U.S. They'd keep 10%.
The Nigeria associates posed as members of the U.S. Armed Forces on dating sites and stole over $1 million from 374 victims. See how darn profitable these scams are? It's why there are so many Internet scams to deal with.The unsuspecting women victims were led to believe that the soldiers would use the money to retrieve property, travel to the U.S., and pay other expenses.
These two women were just moving the money. Do you think their "Nigerian associates" care about them now? I think not. I'll be a lot happier when I can read about the authorities indicting/arresting the Nigerians and other scammers who are the real source of the problem....
Here are the two women indicted:
But these women were not actually participating in a romance scam, their role in the scam was, as stated in the indictment, to receive the stolen money in the U.S. and then reship (thus this part of the scam is known as the Re-Shipping Scam) the money to their associates in Nigeria, as well as places in Ecuador, Great Britain, India, United Arab Emirates and the U.S. They'd keep 10%.
The Nigeria associates posed as members of the U.S. Armed Forces on dating sites and stole over $1 million from 374 victims. See how darn profitable these scams are? It's why there are so many Internet scams to deal with.The unsuspecting women victims were led to believe that the soldiers would use the money to retrieve property, travel to the U.S., and pay other expenses.
These two women were just moving the money. Do you think their "Nigerian associates" care about them now? I think not. I'll be a lot happier when I can read about the authorities indicting/arresting the Nigerians and other scammers who are the real source of the problem....
Here are the two women indicted:
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