FRAUDS on WEB

[k4lem]

There is a considerable number of con artists targeting mailboxes on the web.
Every since early this year I have been barraged with junk like this. They always are so obvious, except some try to convince you they are Ebay, PayPal or some bank.

They always send through email with a yahoo or other generic account. They always shift IDs and try again.
Here is an example:

Dear Sir/Madam

PLEASE HELP ME

It is with heart full of hope that I write to seek your candid help.I am.Mrs. Doreen Kabila. a woman of 42 years old resident in Democratic Republic of Congo over 25 years ago. I am the 6th wife of the Late Congo President,Laurent Kabila who was assassinated few years ago.

You may be surprise to receive my letter; however, I got your contact from my private search on the internet and decided to contact you for confidential business. Since the death of my husband,President Laurent Kabila, there have been incessant hostilities spanning in the family over his will. My only son Magnus Kabila. And I have been marginalized by other wives and his first son Joseph Kabila who succeeded him as the new president of Democratic Republic of Congo. Perhaps because of my closeness with my late husband as his last and youngest wife or because I am a foreigner.

However, before the death of my husband, Laurent Kabila he Deposited the sum of $40.3m USD (Forty Million Three Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) in my name in a Finance company abroad. Whose name is withheld for now until we open communication I shall be grateful if you could receive this fund into your Account for safe keeping. I promise to give you 20% at the end of the transaction. Observe carefully no risk inherent, so, I urge you not to underestimate this vision. My only son Magnus and I shall come over immediately the consignment (money)leaves the Finance company to meet with you in your country.

The diplomatic Courier Company will tag the consignment as personal effect: As soon as I receive your consent, relevant documents will be prepared in your favor authenticating you as the beneficiary of the consignment.

Counting on your quick respond for more detail information. Awaiting your urgent reply . Reply me through this my e-mail Address:

Best regards,
Mrs.Doreen Kabila


http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[n8yx]

This is known as a '419 scam', after the Nigerian legal code.

Nice linky (http://www.419eater.com)

Have fun...

[k6pme]

I get them all the time about my e-bay and paypal accounts, neither of which I have, and bank accounts from banks that I have never done business with.

[al2n]

They farm emails from ISP's, message boards, buy lists of addresses and such.

Just delete them when you get them. If you get the Ebay or Paypal scams, you can report them to Ebay and they will investigate. They are about the only company that actively hunts down scammers.

Worst thing you can do is reply to the email asking to be removed from their list. All that does is tell them that the address is a good one and they will send you more.

[WA3KYY]

When I get ones like the bank, eBay and PayPal I go to the site and fill out the forms with fictitious but legit sounding information. #If you have ever seen those advertising "checks" in the mail, you can have great fun with the bank routing information on them when replying to these scams. #Use the phone number for your local police station too. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[w3sy]

Be sure to go the the link N8YX posted -- www.419eater.com. It's hilarious. It's all about people who actually scam the scammers. They lead the scammers on and make them jump through ridiculous hoops because they think they have a willing victim.

One recurring theme is when the scam killer will ask that the scammer send a picture of himself holding up a sign with a particular saying, in order to prove he really exists. The scammer, usually not knowing what the saying means, will comply, with humorous results! See for yourself.

Usually, these clowns will try to get your bank and/or credit card info so they can bleed you dry. I wonder if anyone has ever actually fallen for this nonsense.

A scam that hits a little closer to home (we may have discussed this a while back) is when you have something for sale, and a potential buyer pulls this little scheme:

1) Sends you too much money for the item. Say you are selling something for $1500. They might send you a check for $5000 "by mistake." One crook gave the excuse that his secretary misunderstood his instructions. Haw!

2) They will ask you to please send back the difference, but "to sweeten the pot," you can keep a couple hundred of the difference "for your trouble." Okay, so you deposit his $5000 check, and promptly send back $3300 (5000 minus 1500, minus the 200 he said you could keep).

3) Whoops! The orginal $5000 check bounces (surprise!) and the sender disappears. Depending on what method of payment you used to return the $3300, and how soon you discover the deception, you may be S.O.L. big time.

4) Another twist on this deal is they say a courier will come to pick up the widget you are selling. Haw, keep waiting. They don't really want your damn widget -- just your dough.

I know a couple people who have been approached with this deal. It's always, always, always a scam. Anytime someone offers to overpay you, and asks you to send back all or part of the difference, it's a scam. Walk away. Report the jerk if you possibly can.

This is one more reason why a seller should wait for the funds received to "clear" before sending ANYTHING to a buyer he doesn't know.

[nx6d]

The 419eater.com website is hilarious!

I was thinking it might be nothing but racist clap-trap, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't. These scammers are definite scumbuckets that need to be publically humilated.

Financial scammers are only slightly higher on the food chain than child molesters. They capitalize on greed, naviete and/or desperation of the victims. That ain't right!

Dave WX7B
Sonoma County, CA

[WA5KRP]

I'm on AOL. Never see it.


WA5KRP
Texas

[KA9VQF]

Seems to me that AOL is a scam in itself.

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[W2ILP]

Hmmm..Only 40.3 million bucks! #How much could be left after sharing it with five other wives and their children and grandchildren plus a million gullible people who might respond to the e-mail?

I don't want to pay any tax to Congo..even if it is Zaire.

w2ilp (Ignore Luxurious Poverty)..don't give them your numbers.

[n0jaa]

All such emails automatically are directed to my spam file and deleted. It's amazing just how obvious some of these scams are, and yet the scammers still expect you to buy into them!

[wv6z]

Quote[/b] (WA5KRP @ April 02 2006,15:01)]I'm on AOL. #Never see it.


WA5KRP
Texas
I'm on AOL and Charter and see this crap almost daily..... if you like Danny, I'll save my AOL ones and forward them to you if you are feeling left out.

BTW N0JAA, what I think is funny is the amount of typos that are in the UK Lottery ones..... seems like the inventors of the language would have a bit better grip on how to use it..... or Spell Check & Grammar Check at least
.