Scams and frauds thru internet - interesting links Thread poster: Evert DELOOF-SYS
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From FITA
SCAMS AND FRAUDS
http://travel.state.gov/scams.html
Because I\'m a person of high moral fiber, I get several e-mails a week from people overseas who want to deposit millions of dollars in my bank account. They\'re usually in desperate need of a reputable person like me to give them my bank account number, so they can transfer money out of their country a... See more From FITA
SCAMS AND FRAUDS
http://travel.state.gov/scams.html
Because I\'m a person of high moral fiber, I get several e-mails a week from people overseas who want to deposit millions of dollars in my bank account. They\'re usually in desperate need of a reputable person like me to give them my bank account number, so they can transfer money out of their country and into my account. For this service I am entitled to a generous fee that is usually in the millions.
Sound familiar? Just about everyone with an e-mail address has received offers like this, usually from people claiming to be related to high government officials in Nigeria. The unlucky people who fall for this scam end up losing large sums of money. Along with all the good it has brought, the Internet has also opened new territory to scam artists and frauds. Here are three sites that will help you protect yourself against unscrupulous people who want to take your money.
Advance Fee Business Scams at
travel.state.gov/scams.html.
The information here is from the U.S. State Department, but it applies no matter what your nationality. It\'s a good primer on a certain type of Internet scam.
National Fraud Information Center at
www.fraud.org/welcome.htm.
This site details Internet fraud, telemarketing scams, fraud against the elderly, and much more.
Quatloos! at
www.quatloos.com.
What\'s a Quatloo? Read the explanation, then stay around to read the latest news and fraud alerts. Visit the Cyber-Museum of Frauds & Scams, and the Nigerian Scam Letters Gallery.
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| | | | Mats Wiman 
Sweden
Local time: 05:36
Member (2000)
German to Swedish
+ ...
In memoriam | Excellent Evert! | Jul 25, 2002 |
I have Nigeria offers since 1990 (in Germany) and everybody ought to be as informed as possible about these criminal schemes.
Well done!
Mats
| | | | | Thanks Evert | Jul 25, 2002 |
These things get sent all the time and I also find a good way to suss them out is to just enter part of the message in google and see what it comes up with. The same, of course, goes for virus alerts - a large part of them these days tend to be fakes to get you to delete things which are an integral part of your OS, so however convincing things might sound, it\'s always best to check. Time and again, I\'ve been warned by customers and colleagues about certain viruses which they may have passed o... See more These things get sent all the time and I also find a good way to suss them out is to just enter part of the message in google and see what it comes up with. The same, of course, goes for virus alerts - a large part of them these days tend to be fakes to get you to delete things which are an integral part of your OS, so however convincing things might sound, it\'s always best to check. Time and again, I\'ve been warned by customers and colleagues about certain viruses which they may have passed on, only to find out that it was some \"clever person\'s\" idea of a good scam. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Learn how to report spam | Jul 25, 2002 |
Also read your e-mail provider\'s instructions on how to report spam/abuse. Usually you have to forward the e-mail with full header to an address such as [email protected], or whatever the provider\'s name is. Some use an address like [email protected]. You can also forward these scam e-mails to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected] (in the US).... See more Also read your e-mail provider\'s instructions on how to report spam/abuse. Usually you have to forward the e-mail with full header to an address such as [email protected], or whatever the provider\'s name is. Some use an address like [email protected]. You can also forward these scam e-mails to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected] (in the US).
I know it is a drop in the bucket, but just getting the e-mail that says the scammer\'s e-mail account was closed down gives me some small measure of satisfaction and maybe a few people were spared the annoyance that day.
PS Lycos and Yahoo are particularly good about responding to this problem. Can\'t say the same for Hotmail or some of the smaller providers. ▲ Collapse
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Nikita Kobrin
Lithuania
Local time: 06:36
Member (2010)
English to Russian
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| Thanks, Evert! | Jul 25, 2002 |
In the Nigerian Gallery I\'ve found a letter I got several months ago. They\'re quite stupid offering several millions of interest. It would be more believable if they offered several hundreds.
Cheers,
Nikita
| | | | | Always useful to know this... | Jul 25, 2002 |
Even though I do not intend to part with my hard-earned money by entering in one of these schemes, it is always possible that someone one knows may fall for them. Some years ago a friend of mine got involved in one such scheme; I could smell a rat but I didn\'t understand how the scam worked, so I was not really able to convince my friend that she was getting into trouble. Also, it was she who for some time tried to get me into it... you can say that put a strain on our friendship.
... See more Even though I do not intend to part with my hard-earned money by entering in one of these schemes, it is always possible that someone one knows may fall for them. Some years ago a friend of mine got involved in one such scheme; I could smell a rat but I didn\'t understand how the scam worked, so I was not really able to convince my friend that she was getting into trouble. Also, it was she who for some time tried to get me into it... you can say that put a strain on our friendship.
Often enough people fall for these schemes because of excessive ambition, like in the case of the Nigerian schemes, I guess. They claim to need a hidey-hole for their unorthodox income, so you know that the proposals are not exactly kosher. However, not all schemes are so crude: they look perfectly OK in the surface, and often enough elderly or unemployed people who really need the money fall for them. Many scams use the Internet to trap people, so it is nice that the Net can also be used to make people aware about them. I\'ll certainly look into all the info. Thanks, Evert!  ▲ Collapse
| | | | LJC (X)
France
Local time: 05:36
French to English
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| Evert DELOOF-SYS
Belgium
Local time: 05:36
Member
English to Dutch
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TOPIC STARTER | Here's the latest one | Jul 29, 2002 |
Here\'s the latest I received (this PM):
Dear sir/madam,
My name is Haja Laila from Brunei I am a 23 years old and a British citizen who was taken
to Brunei by my father 10 years ago and married me out of my will to a Prince in
Darussalam.
Over the years I have been able to acquire some money, which I intend to transfer out of
Brunei to Europe.
That is why I contacted you.
<... See more Here\'s the latest I received (this PM):
Dear sir/madam,
My name is Haja Laila from Brunei I am a 23 years old and a British citizen who was taken
to Brunei by my father 10 years ago and married me out of my will to a Prince in
Darussalam.
Over the years I have been able to acquire some money, which I intend to transfer out of
Brunei to Europe.
That is why I contacted you.
I need your assistance because I do not want my husband to know about it. If you know
you are capable of handling this transaction contact me immediately.
Note also that this transaction must be kept secret and confidential.
I await your quick response. ([email protected])
Yours faithfully,
Haja Laila
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| Cool, Evert! | Jul 31, 2002 |
Kinda romantic as well, you get an opportunity to help a damsel in distress and all... 
I got a Nigerian offer today, and I\'ll double-check but on the surface it seems to be an original, not in the Quatloos gallery. If so, I\'ll submit it to them (they provide an email for that).
When I read \"Nigeria,\" alarm bells started ringing. I was precisely thinking that they should start sending messages from so... See more Kinda romantic as well, you get an opportunity to help a damsel in distress and all...
I got a Nigerian offer today, and I\'ll double-check but on the surface it seems to be an original, not in the Quatloos gallery. If so, I\'ll submit it to them (they provide an email for that).
When I read \"Nigeria,\" alarm bells started ringing. I was precisely thinking that they should start sending messages from somewhere else, and now I see here we also have to be careful with Brunei!  ▲ Collapse
| | | | Evert DELOOF-SYS
Belgium
Local time: 05:36
Member
English to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Here's the latest one - received two days ago - poor guy | Dec 30, 2002 |
Dear SIR,
I am Mr. John Coleman and my sister is Miss Rose Coleman, we are the children of late Chief Paul Coleman from Sierra Leone. I am writing you in
absolute confidence primarily to seek your assistance to transfer our cash of twenty one Million Dollars ($21,000.000.00) now in the custody of a private Security trust firm in Europe the money is in trunk
boxes deposited and declared as family valuables by my late father as a matter o... See more Dear SIR,
I am Mr. John Coleman and my sister is Miss Rose Coleman, we are the children of late Chief Paul Coleman from Sierra Leone. I am writing you in
absolute confidence primarily to seek your assistance to transfer our cash of twenty one Million Dollars ($21,000.000.00) now in the custody of a private Security trust firm in Europe the money is in trunk
boxes deposited and declared as family valuables by my late father as a matter of fact the company does not know the content as money, although my father made
them to under stand that the boxes belongs to his foreign partner.
Source of the money:
My late father Chief Paul Coleman , a native of Mende District in the Northerh province of Sierra Leone, was the General Manager of Sierra Leone Mining
co-operation (S.L.M.C.) Freetown . According to my father, this money was the income accrued from Mining Co-operation\'s over draft and minor sales.
Before the peak of the civil war between the rebels forces of Major Paul Koroma and the combined forces of ECOMOG peace keeping operation that almost destroyed my country, following the forceful removal from power of the civilian elected President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah by the rebels. My father had already made arrangement for his family thats talking about my mother, my little sister and myself to be evacuated to Abidjan Cote d\' Ivoire with the CERTIFICATE OFDEPOSIT he made with a security firm in Europe through the aid of U.N
evacuation team.
During the war in my country, and following the indiscriminate looting of Public and Government properties by the rebel forces, the Sierra Leone mining coop. Was one of the target looted and it was destroyed. My father including other top Government functionaries were attaked and killed by the rebels in November 2000 because of his relationship with the civilian Government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.
As a result of my father\'s death , and with the news of my uncle\'s involvement in the air crash in Januaryit dashed our hope of survival. The untimely deaths caused my mother\'s heart failure and other related complications of which she later died in the hospital after we must have spent a lot of money
on her early this year . Now my 18 years old sister and myself are alone in this strange country suffering without any care or help. Without any relation,
we are nowlike refugees and orphans.
Our only hope now is in you and the boxes deposited in the Security Firm To this effect, I humbly solicit your assistance in the followings ways.
1. to assist me claim this boxes from the security
Firm as our beneficiary
2. to transfer this money (USD$21M) in your name to your country
3. to make a good arrangement for a joint business investment on our
behalf in your country and you, our Adviser/ Manager
For your assistance, I have agreed with my younger sister that 15% of the total amount will be for your effort and another 5 % to cover all the
expenses that may incur during the business transaction, Last, I urge you to keep this transaction strictly confidential as no one knows our where about.
Please as you show your willingness, Forward to us your full name, address and Tel/ Fax numbers, to me via my private email address as indicated bellow, this is for security reasons as i will only be accessing my private email earnestly awaiting your response.
Thanks.
May God bless you as you assist us.
Mr. JOHN COLEMAN.
_________________
And another one, stating \'proof\' of what happened:
From: border gezi
Date: dinsdag 08 april 2003 13:58:04
To: [email protected]
Subject: URGENT ASSISTANCE FOR THE FAMILY
FROM: MR BENSON BORDER GEZI
TEL: + 27-73-315-8248
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa.
ATTN: THE MANAGING DIRECTOR / CEO,
URGENT ASSISTANCE FOR THE FAMILY
Please do not be embarrassed to receive this mail especially since we don’t know each other or meet in person before. I was opportune to have your esteemed
particulars from South Africa Information Exchange (S.A.I.E.), in my search for a reliable person to handle a very confidential transaction, which involve a transfer of fund to a foreign account.
My concern has centered on how I could transfer my late father’s money amounting to US$25.5 Million (Twenty Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) out of South Africa for a better investment abroad. I am BENSON BORDER GEZI, the son of comrade Border Gezi. My father was the former Zimbabwean Minister for youth, gender and Employment creation. While alive, my father stood against seizure of white farms and the distribution of it to the blacks without compensation to the white
owners. I would like you to visit the web pages to read more about the story of my late father.
. www.Mweb.co.zw/standard/index.php?id=2908&pubdate=2001-04-29 www.dailynews.co.zw/daily/2001/December/December4/3891.htm1
Because of my father’s sincerity, he was killed by a planned motor accident along Harare-Masvingo Road near Mvuma Province of Zimbabwe. Before his untimely
death, my father told me some few weeks earlier that he kept one diplomatic box with a private finance and Security Company in Johannesburg, South Africa which
contains (US$25.5 Million). He warned that he only declared the contents of the diplomatic box to the Security Company as a family treasure/ values, with
insurance values of the said amount. He also told me that he used my name as the beneficiary of this money being his first child. The original document that
shows the Deed of lodge, Proof of Deposit, and Depository Agreement between my late father and the Management of the Security Company was kept with the
reputable South African Lawyer. Because of South African Financial Law, which bared asylum seeker/ refugee like me to operate an account that exceed US$1000 and fear of the amount involved, I decided to write to you to seek your help for this money to be transferred into your company’s or personal bank account while all arrangement for a hitch free transfer have been fully taken care of.
Please indicate your private phone and fax numbers which will allow an easy flow of communication before or after sending the money into your account. I want to assure you also that this transaction is 100% risk free. As for your reward for this kind assistance, I and my family are ready to offer you 20% of the total
sum while 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred in the course of the transaction.
If you are willing to help me, please try as soon as possible to get back to me through the above private telephone and fax numbers.
Please, I do hope that this money will be safe when finally transferred into your account. I do hope of establishing a good relationship with you and your
family after this transaction. Please for confidential reasons, I urge you to reply me on this private e-mail address. ([email protected]). God bless you.
Best regards,
BENSON BORDER GEZI.
[ This Message was edited by: jazyk on 2003-04-08 15:09] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | You'd better not reply | Mar 2, 2003 |
After receiving -and deleting- these messages systematically day after day, I once replied to one of these guys. I told him I got this type of request several times a day, that I was not interested and I did not even have a Bank account (which is true).
He wrote back to me assuring me it would be very easy to open an acct in my country. This time I did not reply and the following day he called me up ... at 5:00 a.m.!!!!!
His first (and last) words were: \"Monica? Oh, my dear ... See more After receiving -and deleting- these messages systematically day after day, I once replied to one of these guys. I told him I got this type of request several times a day, that I was not interested and I did not even have a Bank account (which is true).
He wrote back to me assuring me it would be very easy to open an acct in my country. This time I did not reply and the following day he called me up ... at 5:00 a.m.!!!!!
His first (and last) words were: \"Monica? Oh, my dear sister...\" and encountered my kind response \"I AM NOT YOUR SISTER, SIR, AND HOW ON EARTH DARE YOU CALL A LADY AT FIVE IN THE MORNING?\"
After which I blocked his email address and never heard from him again. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cicero
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:36
Japanese to English
+ ...
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