New Scams

[Mister Musicman]

I have noticed that the scammers are getting clever and the composition of email messages now need more scrutiny than the usual awkward sounding named person living in Uganda.

Here's one I nearly replied to with the good old english name of Jack Nelson with the title "wedding planning"‏ ([email protected]) The return email was different: [email protected]

Hello....
We are looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle our wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony.

The wedding is expected to hold on the 11th of oct 2010 and MY 15guests are expected to attend with 2days accomodation starting from 10 th oct 2010 through 11th oct 2010. Plus a suit (room)for me and my wife 7th oct through 13th oct 2010

As I do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking cashier cheque once availability is confirmed by you.

You are to arrange for a venue for the wedding (its a civil wedding), a place for the reception ,Videography,Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and flowers (RED COLOR ALL THROUGH PLEASE).

If there is any items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it.

Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.

I will appreciate if you can respond ontime to our request...and also let me know what the total amount for the whole arrangement ll be like

Mr and Mrs Nelson -Winney Jaknel

- I wonder if this chap - who only has one arm and wears an eyepatch is still asking people to kiss him harder?

:DJ:
Rob (Mister Musicman)
www.mistermusicman.co.uk

People may forget what you say or look like, but they won't forget how you make them feel!

[DeckstarDeluxe]

One you nearly replied to?

Everything about that screams scam and its not a new format either.

[Mister Musicman]

new name for you - cheeky spice!:)

I sincerely hope you are more polite with your customers.
Rob

[DazzyD]

Have to agree with Neil. This one has been doing the rounds for a while now. It's the classic bouncy-cheque-given-initially-but-then-requesting-you-refund-the-money-with-your-good-cheque-before-the-dodgy-one-clears-properly scam.

In fact, I remember seeing this scam on The Real Hustle in the first series a few years ago!

[rob1963]

One you nearly replied to?

Everything about that screams scam and its not a new format either.

Indeed.

I know people who have fallen for scams like this & the fake emails supposedly from their bank who actually put in their account details, only to have their account cleaned out soon after, and harsh as it may seem, I really have no sympathy for people who find themselves in this situation.

It's one of the disadvantages for having no common sense & being incredibly naive.

Going back to the OP, the return email address concerned me a bit, as I know a Mr B Anthony!

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Mister Musicman]

I just wanted to warn people and perhaps learn about anyone that knows someone who has had this happen or has experienced similar things and that was the reason I posted the new topic. I worry that younger more naive people will get sucked into a job offer like this. We all know that e-mails have become a great way for scammers to easily lure money or personal information from innocent individuals and we are all vulnerable to one degree or another.

Some of the old favourites are doing the rounds at the moment and it has occurred to me that some of the more astute among our membership may be able to give the rest of us (young and old) some tips on how to spot the cunning ways these spammer’s use to get people to part with their hard earned cash.

It obvious that e-mails from these parasites are merely sent to tempt their prospect victims to provide their personal data and once they succeed, they will use the submitted information to steal money from the victim’s bank accounts or purchase items through the credit card provided by the victim.

My own advice would be to treat any company that approaches you the same way you would a stranger on the street – check them out thoroughly before agreeing to anything. Ask questions and do an online search of the company name and see what comes up.

Any firm without a landline or with only a PO Box address should set off alarm bells. Bad spelling or grammar on websites or in emails should also serve as a warning sign.

Most of us know somebody who has been scammed or who had a near-miss. This is not a joke, as it is not funny. Although no life was lost in most scams, many people have lost their life savings or hard-earned money because they were targeted by scammers. Everybody has a weakness, and the scammers target this weakness.

Rob (Mister Musicman)
www.mistermusicman.co.uk

[Daryll]

Havent had that one yet..................
However I do receive the 419 scam emails , approx 10 a day , I always reply with the following.

OK.
This is what you have to do. You MUST follow my instructions to the letter , any deviation will mean a total loss for you , I have done the method many times, and as a result have close to $53.8 (53.8 million dollars)
you must open a bank account under the name of stephen smithers , this MUST be in the royal bank of Iceland , that is very important , after you have done this , you will transfer all the money to this account ,email me all the account information , I can then transfer this to my offshore account.
I do hope for your safely this is not a scam ,Do NOT ask for any handling fee , I deal with Western union and other like them every day , I NEVER pay up front fees .
I await your keen response

That its , sometimes they reply with the same old email , sometimes they dont

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Daryll just a guess but if your getting ten a day then somethings going wrong.

If your replying to them your telling them that your address is "live" and they will more than likely share it with other people.

Just a thought.

[rob1963]

Daryll just a guess but if your getting ten a day then somethings going wrong.

If your replying to them your telling them that your address is "live" and they will more than likely share it with other people.

Just a thought.

Completely agree.

The only thing to do is to hit delete as soon as they're received.

[DazzyD]

Daryll just a guess but if your getting ten a day then somethings going wrong.

If your replying to them your telling them that your address is "live" and they will more than likely share it with other people.

Just a thought.

Replying to obvious (and not so obvious) scams is a definite no-no. Just don't do it. The reason? As Neil says, you are letting the scammers know your email address is active. They can then spoof your email address so the spam looks like it's come from you. Then lots of people get these emails with your email address on them. It's not good.

And then you could then find yourself on a list such as SpamHaus (SpamHaus site (http://www.spamhaus.org/index.lasso)). Email services will check these lists and you could find your emails being blocked. I speak from experience and this is not a pleasant situation to be in. The last thing you want is for your business email domain to be blacklisted.

[simon1969]

Replying to obvious (and not so obvious) scams is a definite no-no. Just don't do it. The reason? As Neil says, you are letting the scammers know your email address is active. They can then spoof your email address so the spam looks like it's come from you. Then lots of people get these emails with your email address on them. It's not good.

And then you could then find yourself on a list such as SpamHaus (SpamHaus site (http://www.spamhaus.org/index.lasso)). Email services will check these lists and you could find your emails being blocked. I speak from experience and this is not a pleasant situation to be in. The last thing you want is for your business email domain to be blacklisted.

Completly agree Delete is best option!!!

[sleah]

Here's a new one on me. Looks EXACTLY like a genuine email, I even logged in to my account to check.
The give away is the "Dispute Transaction" link in the email which goes to some IP address where they will steal your password.
Clever. They send you an email about a transaction which you will know straight away is fraudulent, then get you by you reporting the fraud using the email link.
Ba5tards the lot of 'em:mad:

BTW below is copied directly from the email so the link is intact, so FFS don't click on it and then enter your password!!!!;)

Dear PayPal Member,
You sent a payment of $90.00 USD to Bob Retolla.
This charge will appear on your bill statement as payment to PAYPAL *Bob Retolla.
Merchant information
Bob Retolla
[email protected] (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected])
2350 Stafford St
Dubuque, IA 52001
United StatesInstructions to merchant
None provided
DescriptionUnit priceQtyAmountBob Retolla (Donation)$90.00 USD1$90.00 USD<IMG border=0 alt="" width=1 height=1>Insurance: ----Total: $90.00 USD
Receipt No: 1906-1067-9495-1770
Please keep this receipt number for future reference.


Important!

If you haven't authorized this charge,
click the link below to cancel the payment and get a full refund.

Dispute Transaction (http://174.133.151.178/~firebird/scgi-bin/dispute-transaction/verify-account/user-identification/continue/webscrcmd=_account-run=04a32194797259/29weSgiaHR0cDovL3d3dy5waHAxNjguY29tL05vdGljZS8/proceed/step=profile/)



<IMG style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; MARGIN-RIGHT: 5px" border=0 alt="">Questions? Visit the Help Center at: https://www.paypal.com/help (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypal.com/help).
Thanks for using PayPal the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online.
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.

PayPal Email ID PP1469 http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/logo/logo_VIPwhite_66x27.gif (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/User/popup/SecurityKeyVIP-outside)



<IMG border=0 alt="" width=1 height=1>

[funkymook]

Here's a new one on me. Looks EXACTLY like a genuine email, I even logged in to my account to check.
The give away is the "Dispute Transaction" link in the email which goes to some IP address where they will steal your password.
Clever. They send you an email about a transaction which you will know straight away is fraudulent, then get you by you reporting the fraud using the email link.
Ba5tards the lot of 'em:mad:

BTW below is copied directly from the email so the link is intact, so FFS don't click on it and then enter your password!!!!;)

Dear PayPal Member,
You sent a payment of $90.00 USD to Bob Retolla.
This charge will appear on your bill statement as payment to PAYPAL *Bob Retolla.
Merchant information
Bob Retolla
[email protected] (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:mailto:[email protected])
2350 Stafford St
Dubuque, IA 52001
United StatesInstructions to merchant
None provided
DescriptionUnit priceQtyAmountBob Retolla (Donation)$90.00 USD1$90.00 USD<IMG border=0 alt="" width=1 height=1>Insurance: ----Total: $90.00 USD
Receipt No: 1906-1067-9495-1770
Please keep this receipt number for future reference.


Important!

If you haven't authorized this charge,
click the link below to cancel the payment and get a full refund.

Dispute Transaction (http://174.133.151.178/~firebird/scgi-bin/dispute-transaction/verify-account/user-identification/continue/webscrcmd=_account-run=04a32194797259/29weSgiaHR0cDovL3d3dy5waHAxNjguY29tL05vdGljZS8/proceed/step=profile/)



<IMG style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; MARGIN-RIGHT: 5px" border=0 alt="">Questions? Visit the Help Center at: https://www.paypal.com/help (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypal.com/help).
Thanks for using PayPal the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online.
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.

PayPal Email ID PP1469 http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/logo/logo_VIPwhite_66x27.gif (wlmailhtml:{C38E96DE-6EB7-4263-8E45-0F2520CA39A9}mid://00000022/!x-usc:https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/User/popup/SecurityKeyVIP-outside)



<IMG border=0 alt="" width=1 height=1>

The giveaway is the 'Dear Payal Member' - they never start their communications like that. They always use your name. :)

[sleah]

The giveaway is the 'Dear Payal Member' - they never start their communications like that. They always use your name. :)

Ohhh yes, so they do:o I also get emails in text format, not html.
To be fair, the scam was pretending to be from .com, whereas my emails come from .co.uk

[rob1963]

Very clever...although the slight giveaway is the fact that this email looks nothing whatsoever like the genuine email receipts you get from Paypal after making a payment!

:shrug:

[sleah]

Very clever...although the slight giveaway is the fact that this email looks nothing whatsoever like the genuine email receipts you get from Paypal after making a payment!

:shrug:

Rob,
The actual email does look pretty genuine, what I posted above was cut and paste, so the layout etc is completely different!
It's also thrown in randon HTML tags for good measure;)

[Mister Musicman]

Rob,
The actual email does look pretty genuine, what I posted above was cut and paste, so the layout etc is completely different!
It's also thrown in randon HTML tags for good measure;)

That is the point I was trying to make in my original posting - "the scammers are getting clever and the composition of email messages now needs more scrutiny than ever".

Anyone notice the poetry there?
:DJ:
Rob (Mister Musicman)
www.mistermusicman.co.uk

People may forget what you say or look like, but they won't forget how you make them feel!

[rob1963]

Rob,
The actual email does look pretty genuine, what I posted above was cut and paste, so the layout etc is completely different!
It's also thrown in randon HTML tags for good measure;)

Sorry Simon, but the email doesn't look pretty genuine at all.

Forget the layout...but the content is completely different to the genuine email confirmations you get from Paypal after making a payment.

In my opinion, anyone stupid enough to fall for that deserves the consequences.

[sleah]

Sorry Simon, but the email doesn't look pretty genuine at all.

Forget the layout...but the content is completely different to the genuine email confirmations you get from Paypal after making a payment.

In my opinion, anyone stupid enough to fall for that deserves the consequences.

I'm afraid I've not had enough experience of every email sent by PayPal, especially any from PayPal America (.com), I only know the one's from .co.uk so I'll consider myself stupid, although I was prudent enough to log in to my account rather than blindly click on an email.

Besides, what if they had decided to change email formats/wording.
Heaven help anyone who is new to PayPal and not familiar with their emails. They must be *really* stupid!
Sorry Rob, but methinks you didn't quite fully think it through before posting!:D

[rob1963]

I'm afraid I've not had enough experience of every email sent by PayPal, especially any from PayPal America (.com), I only know the one's from .co.uk

Exactly...so the fact that it was supposedly from Paypal America when all your others are from Paypal UK should have set alarm bells ringing.

Apart from that, the minute I get an email from Paypal which starts "Dear Paypal member" I instantly know it's NOT from Paypal!

Then there is the bit about clicking on the link if you didn't authorise the payment, etc etc

There are so many giveaways.

It's not rocket science!

:)

[Corabar Entertainment]

I actually had it the other way round recently.... I got an email, thought 'spam' and deleted it, and it turned out to be real :lol:

Account was briefly locked as a result, but didn't take an awful lot to get it sorted.

[andyw]

In my opinion, anyone stupid enough to fall for that deserves the consequences.

do you really believe that rob, these emails are aimed at vulnerable people, they are the people we all should be protecting, in my opinion it is not alright to rip off or con anyone, even if they are stupid enough to fall for a scam like that and some people are. you read stories in the papers where elderly people are conned out of thousands of pounds by con artist and cowboy builders, i think what a shame no one was around to help those people when they most needed it, rob do you sit there and think tough they got what they desserved for falling for it

[rob1963]

you read stories in the papers where elderly people are conned out of thousands of pounds by con artist and cowboy builders

Yes, and that's completely different, as old people are often easily confused and have no idea how to find a good builder or what they should be paying for the work.

I'm talking about young, internet savvy people who should know better. I've lost track of the number of TV and news reports I've seen/heard about online scams. Sorry if it sounds harsh, but I honestly have no sympathy for these kinds of people who fall for these scams.

[andyw]

not everyone who recieves these emails are young internet savvy people, but you know as well as i do, that is not who they are targeting

[rob1963]

not everyone who recieves these emails are young internet savvy people, but you know as well as i do, that is not who they are targeting

That's interesting, because the three people I know who have fallen for these scams all spend a lot of time on the internet, two run their own business and all three are under 50!

[andyw]

you and i are so different rob, you know 3 people who have been scammed and all you think is they got what they desserved, where as i think anyone who scams anyone(whether i know them or not) is absolute scum, even if the victim should of known better, anyway we are drifting off topic

[rob1963]

you and i are so different rob, you know 3 people who have been scammed and all you think is they got what they deserved, where as i think anyone who scams anyone(whether i know them or not) is absolute scum, even if the victim should of known better, anyway we are drifting off topic

For the record, I also think the people who instigate these scams are scum.

Anyway, as you say we're drifting off topic.

:o

[Mister Musicman]

I have been informed by friends in the live music scene that some new internet scams seem to be specifically targeting musicians with MySpace.com profiles.

Apparently the personalised and tailored aspect of the enquiry is quite worrying and I reckon it's only a matter of time before DJ's are approached in the same way. They actually give the venue, date, times etc and then ask for a price.

I know that all of us receive Internet Scam emails on a regular basis and most of us are generally adept at recognising them for what they are. However, we must be vigilant whenever we recieve an enquiry via email from anyone wanting info on availability, price etc. The reason for this is that the enquiry may just be the beginning of a new scam.
:DJ:
Rob (Mister Musicman)
www.mistermusicman.co.uk