Tag: scam

September 5, 2016

Latest Variation on the Nigerian 419 Scams

Conning people from around the world to send them money is a big industry in Nigeria.

They do this by promising a very large sum of money – an inheritance, money locked up by the government, a donation or some other variant on the idea. They send out millions of spam emails promising a fortune and people are sucked into the scam and end up sending money to Nigeria – a fee for processing the fortune or a release fee to the Police etc.

The victim pays and pays until they eventually realise they won’t ever see the fortune, which of course does not exist.

But surely people know of these scams and can’t be taken in anymore?

Yes they can. The scammers change their message enough and send it out to more millions of people and the scam continues. In some parts of Nigeria it is a badge of honour to make money from people and give nothing in return.

A recent variant of the scam claims to be from the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It explains that he has been tasked with cleaning up the corruption in Nigeria and stopping the scammers. Apparently he is working with the Nigerian Police, special FBI and CIA agents in Nigeria and has managed to apprehend numerous scammers.

Then comes the interesting part – he has been authorised to make payments of $5 million to each person on a scam list and guess what? My name is on that list. Hence I will receive $5 million.

It instructs me not to make any payments to Nigerian Police or anyone else in Nigeria.

To release the funds I just need to pay a UN clearance fund fee to his office at the UN.

This is a creative way to try to get around the bad press that Nigerian 419 scams are getting.

The whole thing is of course a scam. There is no $5 million – just payments to clever scammers.

September 4, 2016

Stupidest Scam or Spam of the Week

So, what’s the dumbest scam or spam on the Internet this week?

An email from uk-prizes.com offering me a free iPhone 6s and all I have to do is review it for them. Supposedly I write a 500 word review then I get to keep the brand new expensive phone.

Obviously if a business was giving away iPhone 6s models to anyone writing a review for them then they’d be inundated with reviews and as each review can only be worth pennies they’d be throwing away a great deal of money.

In fact, it’s a con – you have to fill in their lifestyle survey (which is where they make their money) then it says if you are successful then you’ll be sent the phone. This means no-one ever gets a free phone.

September 2, 2016

Ollie and The Microsoft Scammer

A guest post by Ollie

Ollie says he rarely engages with scam callers, but last week he did.

“I had that scam caller that purports to be from Microsoft and telling you that you have a virus on your PC. Ok, so I thought let’s talk:

Me – “Oh so I have a virus and you really are Microsoft calling me, wow, thank you. Where are you actually ringing from?”

“the USA”

Me – “ha, yes I guessed that Microsoft is a huge American company, but where, what address in America”

“Los Angeles”

Me – “OK, Los Angeles, I was just wondering what address”

“I don’t know just in USA”

Me – “You don’t know where you are working from?”

“Microsoft in America”

Me – “Yes I know, you said, but can you tell me the street and building in Los Angeles”

“No, I don’t know”

Me – “You don’t know where you actually are in Los Angeles. Are you sure you are in Los Angeles? Not perhaps Seattle where Microsoft are based?”

“No”

Me – “I think you are trying to scam people and I do not want to talk to you anymore. I will just wish you and your company lots of BAD luck, bye”

By the way I only did this because I saw his caller ID showing starting with a number 1 so I believed it would cost them to hang on………

This is a common scam – do not believe a caller who tells you that your computer has a virus or has been hacked or is being used for illegal purposes or anything similar. They are just calling randomly in the hope of finding someone with a computer who will fall for the lies and then end up paying the scammer to fix non existent problems.

August 28, 2016

Stupidest Scam or Spam of the Week

So, what’s the dumbest scam or spam on the Internet this week?

Two emails supposedly from Google UK Ltd and Google Corporation Thailiand.

First one says we have won £950,000,000 in the email online electronic sweepstakes organised by Google held in August 2016. To get the money we just need to send them, name, address, telephone numbers, nationality, occupation, gender, marital status, email addresses, bank details and how we would like to be paid. This information should be sent to googleverifydept @mail.com

This first email claims to be from Google but the actual sender is marketing @ipo.ir

Then the second email claims to be Google Corporation in Thailand but is from redblufflodge @ wildblue.net and this time promises we have won $1,000,000 in their internal sweepstakes.

Again, we just have to send in lots of personal information to claim our prize.

Gee, how fortuitous that we won two huge prizes from different parts of Google.

We’ll make sure to send in all required confidential information plus scanned passport and driver’s licence etc.

Pathetic.

August 27, 2016

Those Time-Wasters

So, what rubbish emails and calls have there been to Brooklands Radio station in the last few days?

An email titled ‘Part Payment’ claiming a part payment has been made and the final payment will be next week. But there is attached compressed file to be checked. A boring scammer wanting us to download their malicious content.

A Frederick Mayrhofer and his wife have chosen us to receive a donation of $1,000,000 from their jackpot win of $50,000,000. Isn’t that nice of the lying cheating scamming b*stards.

A warning from Barclays that our online account has been blocked and we need to click on the restore link which is actually a link to an email address [email protected]. Pathetic. The scammer couldn’t get Barclays right – it shows as <Barclays><Bank><PLC>

Boost capital offering us money to grow our business. We’re a volunteer organisation so not relevant to us. In any case, information on the Internet suggests they charge around 40% APR which is dreadful.

An idiot supposedly selling Rayban sunglasses at 81% off. But he can’t even spell summer (he put summber) and the company name at the bottom of the email doesn’t match the links in the middle or the senders address.

These people just waste our time and clog up the Internet with rubbish.

August 25, 2016

Fake Text Messages From Loved Ones

This fake message is designed to overcome your natural suspicion by using a name you may be familiar with and that the person needs help.

If you don’t know a Sarah then you’ll probably guess it’s either a fake or intended for someone else.

But if you have a daughter or sister or wife or friend named Sarah then you might fall for this and text back.

If you do, the text will cost you a lot (premium number) plus the return message will go about what happened and how she desperately needs money for hospital bills or some such thing. It probably will also have some story about why she’s not on her normal phone number – broken phone, lost phone, confiscated phone etc.

If the scammers have been watching your social media then they know your child or siblings name and that they are away on holiday somewhere and can use that to make the texts realistic.

Think before you respond.