Classic Scams
I just had to laugh, it was so ridiculous. By now I hope you have all heard of “phishing” and are properly leery of any unsolicited email asking for your personal information, and that you never click on any emailed links. I hope that you’re aware that there are scammers out there on the Web and that they’re after your money and/or your identity.
If you are a loyal Tech–for Everyone reader, you have seen my advice regarding this type of devilry before, (In case you missed it, read my “rocket scientist” post, click here.) and my reco’s for combating it.
Saturday is the day I check my “suspected spam” and “junk mail” folders to make sure there’s nothing legitimate in there by mistake. I wasn’t startled to see that there was some phishing attempts in there … but I was surprised to see that someone had tried sending me the all-time-classic, original “Nigerian banker” phish! I mean … this thing’s so old it belongs in a museum. See for yourself:
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB).
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO
WEST AFRICA.
Transfer Of (25.200.000.000).Twenty-Five Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars.I AM GILBERT KABORE, THE AUDITOR GENERAL AUDIT AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION IN THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. DURING THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR AUDITING I DISCOVERED A FUND IN THE ACCOUNT OPENED BY MR JOHN KOROVO AND AFTER GOING THROUGH THE RECORDS IN THE FILES I FIND OUT THAT MR JOHN KOROVO WAS A VICTIM OF (BEIRUT BOUND CHARTER JET PLANE CRASH HAPPENED ON THE 26TH DECEMBER 2003 IN COTONOU( REPUBLIC OF BENIN).HERE IS THE WEB SITE(http://ww.cnn.com/2003/WORabcdefghij/26/benin.crash)[never click links in emails!!!!]
IN MY TOTAL INVESTIGATION OF THIS ISSUE I FIND OUT THAT LATE MR JOHN KOROVO DIED ALONG WITH HIS ENTIRE FAMILY LEFT NOBODY TO CLAIM FOR THE FUND IN THE ACCOUNT. AND THE LAWS OF OUR BANK STIMULATED THAT ANY ACCOUNT DORMANT MUST BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE NATIONAL TREASURE FUND.
BASE ON THIS I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE THE STATISTIC OF THIS TRANSACTION REQUIRED A FOREIGNER BECAUSE LATE MR JOHN KOROVO WAS A FOREIGNER AND THE FUND CAN ONLY APPROVED TO A FOREIGNER WITH VALID INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR DRIVING LICENSE AS WELL AS FOREIGN ACCOUNT DETAILS.
I ASSURED YOU THAT I HAVE PERFECTLY ARRANGED THIS TRANSACTION BEFORE I CONTACTED YOU AND WITH MY POSITION IN THE BANK THIS FUND IS GOING TO APPROVED ON YOUR BEHALF AND TRANSFERRED TO YOUR PROVIDED ACCOUNT. THE BANK OFFICIAL WILL PROVE YOU ALL THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR THE TRANSFERRED OF THIS FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY LEAVING NO TRACE TO ANY PLACE AND BUILD CONFIDENCE .
FURTHER MORE IN THIS CONTACT OF HELPING I NEED YOUR STRONG ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL NOT CHEAT ME AS SOON AS THIS FUND TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT IN YOUR COUNTRY BECAUSE I WILL BE COMING OVER THERE AS SOON AS THIS FUND TRANSFERRED FOR THE SHARING OF THE MONEY.
ON THE CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION YOU ARE ENTITLE TO 30% OF THE TOTAL SUM AND 10% WILL BE SET OUT FOR EXPENSE ARISE DURING THE TRANSFERRED AND TELEPHONE BILL, THEN THE 60% REST WILL BE FOR ME.
SO ON THE SERIOUS NOTE OF YOUR WILLINGNESS TOWARD THIS TRANSACTION I WANT YOU TO INDICATE YOUR SELF BY SENDING :FULL NAME: SEX: COMPANY: FULL CONTACT ADDRESS: PHONE: CELL: FAX: CITY:STATE:ZIP CODE COUNTRY: OCCUPATION ON ACCEPTANCE TO CHAMPION THIS TRANSACTION WITH ME AND ON THE RECEIPT OF THIS INFORMATION NEEDED FROM YOU I WILL FORWARD YOU THE TEXT OF APPLICATION FORM WHICH YOU ARE GOING TO USE TO APPLY IN THE BANK FOR THE RELEASE OF THE FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
THANKS.YOURS TRULY
GILBERT KABORE
Please note the spelling, and the information requested in the last paragraph — pretty obvious, eh? I traced this back to Belgrade (Yugoslavia). It has been rumored (wink) that there’s a hacker or two in that Former SSR.
I cannot figure out what they were thinking … I mean, everybody’s seen — and laughed at — this one. Right??? Maybe they’re counting on P.T. Barnum’s axiom?
There was another one that first appeared many years ago, and I had thought it had faded into History long ago…
Dear Beloved,
Due to the sudden death of my husband General Abacha the former head of state of Nigeria in June 1998, I have been thrown into a state of hopelessness by the present administration.I have lostconfidence with anybody within my country. I got your contacts through personal research, and had to reach you through this medium. I will give you more details when you reply.Due to security network placed on my daily affairs I cant visit the embassy so that is why I have contacted you. My husband deposited $12.6million dollars with a security firm abroad whose nameis witheld for now till we communicate. I will be happy if you can receive this funds and keep it safe I assure you 20% of this fund. I will need your telephone/mobile numbers so that we can commence communication.Yours Truely,
Hajia Mariam.
Tip of the day: Please, don’t be *naive*. Nobody is going to make you rich because you answer an email. But there are plenty of people who want to take your money. (If you have any extra money, the good folks here at Tech–for Everyone [me] will happily ease your burden!)
Today’s free link: Learn about, view phishing past-and-present, report, and help prevent phishing fraud. Visit Anti-Phishing.org.
Quote of the day: “We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse.” ~ unknown
Orig post: 8/4/07
Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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Request For Urgent Assistance..
Who Sends This *Stuff*?
By now we have all seen a “Nigerian” 419 scam e-mail. They have been around since the beginning.
These e-mails are usually filled with typos (thus my frequent game of LET’S COUNT THE TYPO’S! articles), and are asking for our assistance to “transfer funds“. Sometimes they play on our generous good nature and/or Christian Faith, as in the classic I am a dying woman, shown below, but usually just invoke Greed by mentioning millions of dollars.
But some items have come to my attention that would indicate that the *folks* who mass-mail these formulas are finally starting to realize – like. oh.. fifteen years late, bright bulbs that they are – that these are not getting results. Unless you count laughter.
So a new tack appeared the other day. Short, direct, and to the point.
That surprised me a bit, as the standard “form” is several rambling paragraphs…
An alert reader (thank you Mr. C.) sent in this one,
.. which tries to say, “I am different from the others.”
(And since it is there in black & white, it must be true. Right?)
But really, it is just a new paint job on an old clunker.
Today’s recommended reading: Folks, I think you might like to read, Nigerian 419 scammers: What you didn’t know. If you have ever wondered about where these come from, or what kind of person sends these…
“In good months, Banjo said, he has made $60,000. But in these tough times, the scammers said, they are relying more on a crucial tool: voodoo. At times, Banjo said, he has traveled six hours to the forest, where a magician sells scam-boosters. A $300 powder supposedly helps scammers “speak with authority” when demanding payment. A powder, rubbed on the face, reportedly makes victims viewing the scammer through webcams powerless to say no.
“No matter what, they will pay,” said Olumide, a college student, adding that he is boosting his romance scams by wearing a magical, live tortoise hanging from a cord around his neck.“
This is an excellent related article, How to Conduct Online Banking Safely
* Orig post: 4/29/09
Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. 
post to jaanix.
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Once Again– I’m A Millionaire!
You know, I never could have predicted – when I was a lad – that when I grew up I would get a million bucks/Euros in the mail… much less, 2-to-3 times a week!
| From: | Max Raster (Max.Raster@t-online.de) |
| You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe | |
| Sent: | Wed 1/14/09 9:00 PM |
| To: | max.raster@t-online.de |
Batch No: EULO/1007/444/606/08
Lucky Numbers: 8-17-28-31-55 [09]
PROMOTION DATE: 2ND JANUARY 2009
Your email address has won 1,000,000.00 (One Million Euro) in the ESPANA EURO MILLION PROMOTION. The Promotion is a joint Euro/America private lottery registered and organized in accordance with the World Lottery regulation act.
We the National Lottery organizing committee are pleased to officially notify you of the status of your email application. An official notification of winning is hereby issued to you as your email promotion ticket randomly drew for the Lucky Numbers: 8-17-28-31-55 [09] Bonus Ball which selected your email as the 2ND winner of our lottery program you have consequently won the lottery program in the first batch. You have been awarded a cash prize of 1,000,000.00 (One Million Euro)
Pretty good grammar in this one.. maybe it’s legit? Woman Bilked Of $400K By Nigerian Internet Scam and http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/lotteryscamnamesE.php
Today’s free link: Folks, please read Bill Mullins article Jealous? Cyber-crooks Have Your Number
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Woman Bilked Of $400K By Nigerian Internet Scam
Folks, as an IT Support Professional, I am keenly aware of the current state of computer security, and the “shadow economy” of cyber-crime. I am a student of IT Sec (as it’s known), and I try to keep my readers abreast of the latest threats and trends.. and scams.
For a while now, I have looked forward to receiving Bruce Schneier’s monthly newsletter (named “CRYPTO-GRAM”). You can find Mr. Schneier’s website on my Blogroll. He is one of the leaders in the field.
To get the full benefit of his keen wit, one should (IMHO) follow the links he provides. One such link led me to this video..
Vodpod videos no longer available.
I am not exactly sure of the original date of this story, but the blogs are atwitter with it now.
This is the oldest scam on the Internet (well.. one of the oldest anyways) and, frankly, I’m kind of flabberghasted by this woman. There is a wealth of information about these scams on the Internet.. I wonder, if she read Tech-for Everyone, would she have been so ___________ ?
I also wonder why she went public.
I do give ‘props’ to the news crew, though– they almost completely kept their chuckles out of the story.
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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