# Everyone Beware!!



## wareagle (Nov 10, 2008)

This is probably preaching to the choir, but for those that aren't savy to the internet and it's dark side, read this carefully and be aware of your actions with internet activities.


Over the past couple of days I have received several hoax e-mails supposedly from various banking institutions. As a small business owner there is a larger volume of this type of thing that goes on due to being a large public target, but it still happens to individuals.

These e-mails have a message to the effect that an account has been changed and that to continue the ability to use the account you have to click the link to maintain the account's usable status. There has been a couple of others but to a similar effect. *It is a phishing scam trying to get sensitive information!!* *Do not click any of these links and do not under any circumstances send any sensitive information to an unsolicited sources*.  Doing so will open yourself to all sorts of problems.

The e-mails I have been getting are being forwarded to the appropriate company's fraud departments for investigation. I encourage anyone getting these to do the same. Maybe with some luck we can get some of these dirtbags a stay at a crossbar motel. At the very least, maybe someone doing the investigations will keep their job.


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## Philjoe5 (Nov 10, 2008)

WE,
Your post is a good reminder. Email is not secure, never send personal information you care about keeping personal by email. Also banks never ask for any of your personal information. They already have it. If they need you to confirm personal information by any means, phone, email, etc. find another bank, fast!

Cheers,
Phil


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## jack404 (Nov 10, 2008)

Cheers W/E

here the scam is to click on a link because you have won a $500 voucher from Coles or woolworths ( supermarkets)
or DJ's or other departments stores

basically if you dont know who sent it dont open or hit links

i have tossed M$ mail for yahoo web mail as everything is a attachment on thier servers and cant auto run on my pc as the M$ email does ( Outlook) 

take care everyone

jack


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## rake60 (Nov 10, 2008)

This is timing! LOL

Just yesterday I received an email addressed to "Dear Lovely One" ???
This persons father had been killed by rebels who were taking over their country and
had inherited $7 million dollars and was searching for a contact in the USA to help them
transfer the funds to an US account and share in the future profits from investments in 
exchange for helping.

The email senders IP address traced to Japan. :

The wife and I did get a good laugh out of it anyway.

Rick


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## zeusrekning (Nov 10, 2008)

Rick, Sounds like the smae one I recieved this weekend.


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## dsquire (Nov 11, 2008)

rake

If I had clicked on an received all the offers of this type I would have so much money that I would have had to hire everyone that belongs to HMEM to help me spend it. It is amazing how these people can be so stupid to think we will believe them when they say they will split 50 million dollars with them just for doing next to nothing like giving them an address to deliver it to. 

OK. I never got any money so I can't hire anybody so I guess you can all go back to having fun making chips which is what this is all about anyway.

Cheers :bow:

Don


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## Maryak (Nov 11, 2008)

Guys,

Be EVEN MORE careful if you use Internet Explorer V6 and earlier, they are a favourite target for hackers due to their poor security.

I use Mozilla Firefox but each to their own.

Regards
Bob


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## Kludge (Nov 11, 2008)

rake60  said:
			
		

> Just yesterday I received an email addressed to "Dear Lovely One" ???
> This persons father had been killed by rebels who were taking over their country and
> had inherited $7 million dollars and was searching for a contact in the USA to help them transfer the funds to an US account and share in the future profits from investments in exchange for helping.



I have fun with these emails. Sometimes, I reply that I have something like 10 times their problem but I have to get it out of the US, and the Feds are on my butt. Or I tell them I have to see a percentage up front in hard cash before I consider their offer. Or ... or ... or ... well, creativity is so much fun when it comes to things like this.

I do love being evil! 

BEst regards,

Kludge


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## ChooChooMike (Nov 11, 2008)

If I responded to all these email offers, I'd conservatively (or parts of me thereof :big be/have


3"-6" longer
2"-3" thicker
More hair in various places
taller
much much much much richer
Have ladies falling all over me
houses, cars, planes, etc
the best machine shop around
my own island/country/nation
Nigerian kings falling all over themselves to be my best friend
Pharmacy for V-eye*ag#!r-ah and all of it's cousins, relatives, etc.

Did I forget anything ?? :


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## itowbig (Nov 11, 2008)

ChooChooMike  said:
			
		

> If I responded to all these email offers, I'd conservatively (or parts of me thereof :big be/have
> 
> 
> 3"-6" longer
> ...



YA most importantly you forgot about BEER ;D :big:


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## CrewCab (Nov 11, 2008)

ChooChooMike  said:
			
		

> Did I forget anything ?? :



Only the Rose coloured spectacles 

CC


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## baldrocker (Nov 11, 2008)

I just want to know , how they know i need enlargement?
Anonymouse


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## Cedge (Nov 11, 2008)

Baldy...
One of them right tarts you used to run had a big mouth?.....LOL

I operate a couple of online shopping carts. I get several "orders per week that read something like...

I've just visited your web site and I'm interested in purchasing several of your offerings. Before I place an order I need to know if you will take credit cards and do you ship to country XZY. We will pay in advance for shipping and our preferred shipping agent will pick up the merchandise. 

Please get back to me with your price list and web site location so that I can expedite this order.

Thanks in advance
Roger C Crotchcricket
Screwum Merchandising LTD
Country XYZ


Looks innocuous enough but here's the scam. First off they ask for the address of the web site, even though they claim to have been there. Second they never make any specific mention of your products. Both are dead give aways that the hook is being baited.

If you respond, they place an order and pay for your products using a bogus credit card, including shipping. Then they send around a shipping courier to collect the products, for which you pay, using the funds from the credit card. 

The fun begins when your bank calls to inform you that you've had a bad card charged against your account. That's when it dawns on you that you're out shipped products, shipping costs and whatever charges the bank might apply. 

I've seen this scam run several times for several thousands of dollars each, one of which was against Jensen Steam Engines, before I went on staff. There is no recourse because the bank, credit card company, state, federal and international law enforcement will not pursue small frauds (under $3000) outside of one's home country. The thieves know this and are able to operate with total impunity.

Steve


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## rake60 (Nov 12, 2008)

My parents received an an email with a new and more direct twist on extortion about year ago.

The sender stated that someone had paid him $9000 to kill one of them, but if they would send
him $10000 he'd call it all off. *GAME ON!*

I traced the IP and sent him a reply of my own including his physical address, phone number and 
a map to his house. For whatever reason he did not reply to my email. ??? 

6 hours later I sent another email asking why I had not received a reply.
It came back immediately saying that that email address was no longer valid.
Perhaps they had forgotten to pay their ISP bill that month? 

Rick


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## CrewCab (Nov 12, 2008)

That's just sick Rick ??? .............. but I do like how you sorted the matter :bow:

CC


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## rake60 (Nov 13, 2008)

Here is a new one just received today! 

_*Dearest One

Greetings to you, I know this letter will be strange to you. It comes from a young 24 years old girl held up in a war country, Ivory Coast. I have been praying to God to give me somebody who will help me with my present condition since i have decided and made up my mind to relocate from here to stay with you in your country to start up my life again as you help me receive this box that is containing this fund in your country.

I am the only daughter of my late father and he was in government in Sierra Leone for about 3 years untill Johny Paul Zuma seized power,my father ran down to Ivory Coast here with me to take refugge. Things have been ok,untill the killings and political situation here become a problem and before he died,he deposited a trunk box containing the sum of $ 8.000,000 united state dollars with a private security company.With the documents issued to him which is on my posession now,the box is registered as family valuables and personal belogings he did this for the security of the fund and till date the security company did not know the true content of the box. 

I have contacted the security company for the claim and retrival of the box on their custody and the director of the security company has agreed and promise to lift the box to my partner through their diplomatic means as soon as i appoint one since the political war here is geting worse.Due to this i want you to act as my partner to receive the consignment box in your country for me and help to
get me out of here as i dont want to trust blindly to lose everything i have inherited from my late father. 

Contact me with my private email address.*_

What a terrible plight!
It is only $8 million! I'll be damned if I'll lower MY standard of living THAT much! :big: 

Where do these people come from?

Rick


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## ksouers (Nov 13, 2008)

I was born at night, but it wasn't last night!


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## ronm (Nov 13, 2008)

Kludge  said:
			
		

> I do love being evil!
> 
> BEst regards,
> 
> Kludge



You want evil, this guy is evil!!!
http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/


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## Mcgyver (Nov 13, 2008)

Ron, i started reading some of that, its a time wasting vortex, but man the guy is hilarious!


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## tel (Nov 14, 2008)

Perfectly genuine, I'm keen to get on board. However, I have just requested a cash ceposit of $US80,000 as a sign of good faith. ;D


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## Dhow Nunda wallah (Nov 16, 2008)

Shoulda asked em for a nice new VMC Tel :big:
And you would make pumps to supply clean water to their village


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## Kludge (Nov 17, 2008)

ronm  said:
			
		

> You want evil, this guy is evil!!!
> http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/



He is my inspiration. Well, one of many. He definitely has an admirable style.

BEst regards,

Kludge, not a victim of the FLuffy Bunnies, just reality


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## wareagle (Nov 21, 2008)

These people are getting crafty! Everyone needs to be very careful!!!

I have obviously been getting an onslaught of spam e-mail to the effect that my account is suspended and you need to verify information and blah, blah, blah. We've all no doubt seen them!

They, or whoever, has started making phone calls now. I got a call from an individual stating he was with my retirement fund and needed to get some information urgently to help my retirement from falling down the huge stock market suck hole. I told him that I didn't have the information handy and would have to call him back. He left me a number and I turned right around and called my retirement fund management company and told them of the call to see if it was legitimate. You can take a guess as to what the answer was.... No.

It is the policy of the management firm to not call and solicit sensitive information over the phone. So, if you get a call such as this, brush them off and call the firm's main number to see if you are talking to a scammer. Many of these entities will have a security question to ask, and a very good indicator of it being a phony call is to give them a wrong answer (if your mother's maiden name is Smith, tell the caller it is Lauren of the Ralph Lauren clan or some other BS) and see what they say. If they say okay and proceed, then the gig is up and you know that you are talking to a scammer. If it is a legitimate call, then they will tell you your answer is not matching their records and you can give them the correct information.

If you are ever in doubt, blow them off, get a number and call the main phone number for the entity to verify that the number you were given is theirs and that they are making these types of calls. If they are, then proceed and if not, then I would advise turning it over to the authorities.


With the current market conditions slumping, this type of stuff will only get worse! Keep an eye open for this type of thing!!!


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## rake60 (Nov 21, 2008)

It gets better every day!

Today I received a very generous offer from an individual who wants to clear out site of spammers.
All I need to do is send them a copy of our member list and they will take it from there.

I'll get right on that!  :

Do I have something tattooed on my forehead that I'm not aware of or do these these people actually 
believe I AM as dumb as I look?  
 :big:

Rick


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## Cedge (Nov 21, 2008)

Now there is an IP address I'd love to know the origins for. Let's see.. we get hacked and someone knows enough about it to offer to "help". Yup... that math works for me.

Steve


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## Phelonius (Jan 25, 2009)

rake60  said:
			
		

> My parents received an an email with a new and more direct twist on extortion about year ago.
> 
> The sender stated that someone had paid him $9000 to kill one of them, but if they would send
> him $10000 he'd call it all off. *GAME ON!*
> ...



 Someone should market software that could enable ordinary users to do such a trace.
 It would do to scammers what caller ID did to obscene phone calls.

 Phelonius


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## rake60 (Jan 25, 2009)

That software is available to the public.
It's free to download as a trial program but costs about $30 USD 
to make it fully functional. 

Here is a link: http://www.networkingfiles.com/neotrace/

Rick


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