The Golden Internet Rule: If things look too good to be true, they very probably ARE!!!
There
are Internet Scammers out there - and some players look very genuine.
Their email skills range from amateurish to sophisticated.
Whatever,
insert the sender's email address
or a few lines from the suspect email
into a Search Engine.
Many just want to waste your time and computer bandwidth. Don't forward 'chain' mails, eg sending this to 20 people will guarantee you wealth or an answer to a prayer. Don't just mindlessly forward emails to others without testing the credibility. It'll make you look like an ass (ie donkey). Once, a young lady forwarded an email. It was so lovely.
ooo, beautiful. ooo, coo. You know, lion lying down with the lamb. In this heartstringy photographic email, we were told that a tiger had given birth to cubs and they sadly died. Searching round for substitute sucklers was of course difficult but some bright spark decided piglets were the answer. So the story went. Most people don't have time to check sources let alone have SPIRITS OF DISCERNMENT. So we just ooo,coo - especially if our friends have (innocently) sent us the email. However, i knew about
http://www.snopes.com/ and other urban legend (false information becomes true if it's repeated enough). The case is one of Asian animal exploitation/ by intermingling species. You know the human ooo, coo factor.
Daliy Mail uncovers 'porkies'
Treat 'Nigerian letters' with amusement and delete them quickly. They purport to be from Africa and/or refugee camps and, as with all beggars, emotion is used as a bait. They state that the sender's late father/cousin was a rogue general, Field Marshall or bank executive who stole millions of $$ from an African bank (or the odd government). The problem is that the money is in cheque form & that's where you, the very fortunate email recipient, comes in. The money, for some reason, can only be cashed at a foreign bank. Now if you would kindly give your bank details, you can share in 50% of the loot. As time goes by, the kind foreigners are milked for more funds, eg bribing the odd corrupt official. Once i received an email telling me that an African with my name had left me a money mountain. (Glad it wasn't me who died.)
www.snopes.com
www.scamorama.org
www.scamorama.com/mccrackin_podmc.html Famed anti-scammer Dr Phil McCrackin
The next type of fraud doesn't appeal to the recipient's greed so much as his desire to belong to someone special. This is where serious $$ are made. Talkin' Mafia here. Men are baited by 'women' who systematically fall in love with them after a few emails. Usually, you will find these women on free Internet matchmaking websites. Give Russian and Ukraninan women a wide berth. Here's how 'they' work. You answer their ad. They write back in very stilted English. At this stage, they will give you their personal e-address so as to avoid the (numbered) source computer of their scamming operation (which they then can electronically alter. Dazzling photographs, often of Russian models/celebrities, are sent to appeal to men. After say 6 emails from the old USSR, the $$ requests start to flow. Money for visas, money for computer, money for airline tickets... One brazen scammer group wanted money so 'her' mother could go to Mocow airport to farewell her dear daughter. There was a well-planned silence in her e-mails. Then came the 'sad' news. The 'mother' had had a heart attack at the airport - and went to God. Now, could the man please send money for the funeral???
E-letters are sent out by the hundred. By just pressing a button, scammers can translate their Russian language letter - into English, or Japanese, or Freench or whatever - and viceversa. Such is their confidence in Western males, many scammers use the same email address for their raids. Only a few men will complain so as not to look stupid.
http://www.russian-scammers.com
http://www.datingnmore.com/fraud/scam_email.htm Scammers' e-addresses
http://www.british-filipino.com/Filipinaforyou.html Notorious Philipinas
Received an email from someone who has hijacked someone's legitimate email address. It was my second such email. In both cases the false 'sender' had to leave the country at short notice. Both are impersonal. Both mention Western Union. The first was to Virginia MobusNelson at URBAN SEED http://urbanseed.org/ . Both would have large Address Lists. Christopher is from the Swiss-based group INITIATIVES FOR CHANGE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_of_Change .
Beware!!! Here is the text:
Hello, How are you doing? hope all is well with you, i am sorry that i didn't inform you about my traveling to England for a Seminar.
I need a financial favor from you as soon as you receive this e-mail because i misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel where my money,and other valuable things were kept i will like you to assist me with a loan urgently. I need the sum of $2,800 to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home.
Sorry to bother you i will appreciate whatever you can afford to help me with and that would be very much appreciated.I will of course pay back every penny within a reasonable period of time.
Please kindly help me to send the money through Western Union Money Transfer using the details below:
Name :Chris james Address : 212 Cromwell Road Zip code: SW5 OSW State: London Country : England
Please send me the money transfer control number with details used in sending it once you have it sent. I will be glad if you can find it in your heart to help a friend in need.
Your reply will be greatly appreciated.
Chris
