419 Scam of the Day [Email Scams, Phishing, etc.]

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
101
one would actually need a BUSINESS to get scammed here...Im guessing the scammers hit rate is pretty low

102
I received this today on Facebook:

" Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Wir freuen uns sehr, Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass Ihr Name auf der facebook helfen Förderung erscheinen und wir sind geben Sie die Summe von $50.000 USD (fünfzigtausend US-Dollar).

Ihr Name wurde von Herrn Mark Zuckerberg der CEO von Facebook (ausgewählte Gründer & Chief Executive Officer) Die Förderung wurde für alle Facebook-Nutzer profitieren von der Verstärkung des Unternehmens

gemacht zu machen Facebook ist eine der ersten und immer groÌˆĂŸten Mittel zur Erfüllung der alten und neuen Freund.

Es wird empfohlen, die Zahlung Abteilung mit Ihrem vollen Namen und Adresse bei (gmail address) so dass sie sich vor und geben Ihnen das Geld in echtes Geld.

Facebook © 2011 "

Translation:

" Congratulations!

We are pleased to inform you that your name appear on the facebook to help promote and we are give you the sum of $ $ 50,000 (fifty thousand U.S. dollars).

Her name was Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook (Founder & Chief selected Executive Officer) The promotion was benefit for all Facebook users by reinforcing the company's made to make Facebook is one of the first and biggest ever resources to fulfill the old and new friends.

It is recommended that the payment department with your full name and address with contact (gmail address) so that they are and give you the money to real money.

Facebook © 2011 "

I was immediately suspicious due to errors in the text and got a couple of second opinions. The Facebook member who sent it has no details on their profile. Presumably, after the first reply, there would be a follow up to obtain personal details.

Does anyone know the procedure to report this to Facebook? I can block their profile but this would not highlight the message.

103
According to Facebook help:

Hope that helps.

p.s. I haven't posted the link as I'm not technically savy enough to know if that would link to my Facebook page... but I found that by clicking on "Account", "Help Centre" and typing in "spam".

104
Thanks for that. I had seen it but the only problem is that you cannot add a comment as to why it is Spam. I don't know if Facebook review these.

In other areas it is possible to add a reason for reporting a post etc.

105
...........

106
Just got this offer for a 'wonderful' business opportunity out of the blue ... imagine that

"Hello from Hong Kong

Good day to you my friend. I am Daniel Tsai,

I work in a Bank here in Hong Kong.I am writting

you because I want you to be my partner in a business project worth $44.5M.

Please reply me back via my PRIVATE e-mail

address for more information

[emails removed]

When I get your reply, you will have more details

from me. Best Regards, Daniel Tsai"

107
This is actually very smart, it's called Spear Phishing, where as they send out an email destined to a very small niche market. They have a lower hit rate but a higher conversion rate. Look at comments here , if you're a business owner you may easily fall for it.

108
This is a new one LOL

Hello,

This is to officially inform you that we have verified your contract file presently on my desk, and I found out that you have not received your payment due to your lack of co-operation and not fulfilling the obligations giving to you in respect to your contract payment.

However, you are hereby advised to stop dealing with some non-officials in the bank as this is an illegal act and will have to stop if you so wish to receive your payment after the Board of directors' meeting held in Abuja. We have resolved in finding a permanent solution to your problem, hence we have arranged your payment through our ATM CARD PAYMENT CENTRE in Europe, America,Africa and Asia Pacific.This is part of an instruction/mandate passed by the Senate in respect to overseas contract payment and debt re-scheduling.

We will send you an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw your money via ATM MACHINE in any part of the world,and the maximum daily limit is Ten Thousand United States Dollars($10,000.00) valued sum at Five Million United States Dollars {$5,000,000.00}.

If you desire to receive your fund this way, kindly re-confirm your:

(1) Your Full Name

(2) Full residential address.

(3) Phone And Fax Number

Please do stop any further communication with anybody or officer.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Best Regards,

MR. RICHARD GARY

109
Question for the non-native English speakers here - how obvious is it that this is not written by anyone in a position of responsibility who would have a reasonable grasp of business English? I mean, I'd expect any native speaker to laugh at the contrived wording and usage, but is it obvious to everyone?

110
So tempted to create a new email to actually reply to this people. But i cant be bothered :P

111
I was reading somewhere the style might be deliberate, that and why so often these scams still mention nigeria, they reasoned it's because they're not looking for people who would take the time to check the story too thoroughly, but are instead looking for the gullible who take it at face value.

112
Here is another Scam to watch out for. People may be drawn into it as it refers to the genuine Swiss Lotto.

This is the email I received today:

Needless to say, I haven't sent any details, especially as I have never played the Swiss lotto

113
It's fine to copy/paste the text of a scam, but please remove any sketchy URLs, and all email addresses/phone numbers. Let's not give them even more publicity.

114
Fair enough. I nearly did do that myself. I took out the ref. numbers from the text

115
Normally when I get this kind of e-mail I just delete it.

But today being a Sunday I decided to check it out.

Too much free time :-))

when I clicked the link it is shown as:

[Link Removed]

I was asked to select my bank..

So I did..

And then I thought about clogging up their database with a false entry..

Mmmmm 1 false entry is not much use...

And then I thought...hey, I am sure I could write a script for this to

generate thousands of false entries.

And then I thought.. But wait !!

Surely that's the banks job???

Maybe they will pay me millions to write scripts for them ????

:-)))

Or at least ÂŁ268.50

---

Tax Refund Notification

After the just concluded calculation of fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 268.50 GBP. Please submit the tax refund request and have your tax refund sent to your bank account in due time

Please Click "Get Started" reference below to have your tax refund credit to your bank account in due time. Take your time to go through the bank we have on our list.

Get Started

Note : For Security reason we will record (IP Address, Time and Date) Delibrate Wrong input or flooding with be criminally pursued

Best Regards

HM Revenue & Customs

116

This morning I received a letter, supposedly from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP of Madrid, regarding a long lost inheritance ($9.9 mil US) from a distant relative (so distant I’ve never heard of him).

Google checks reveal that

a) Julian Wardwell isn’t listed as a lawyer in any of Davis Polk & Wardwell’s offices worldwide.
b) Madrid office address, telephone number and e-mail does not match google’s details.
c) Very unlikely that my distant relative would have been German - the English surname is quite rare in the UK. Plus a lot of research has been done on the family history and the first name doesn’t exist for any known relative.
d) I don’t know what the statue of limitations is for claiming an estate inheritance in Spain, but said relative was supposed to have died in 2004!
f) the guy wants to split the proceeds 40% to him and 50% to me!

Just one question - is it worth sending the letter off to the genuine Davis Polk & Wardwell or not? They’re a worldwide firm so might not be too happy with people scamming in their name.

117
If I receive scam letters claiming to be from named companies, I usually forward them to the companies concerned. It can help them track down the scammers and get them stopped

118
Seriously, does anyone, ever, fall for that??

119

Most don’t I guess, but some must do - otherwise they wouldn’t bother to keep sending them out.

120
No problem, just send me the remaining 10%.