Pages Tagged “scam”
Blog Posts
- Recursive Email Scam
I received a scam email claiming to be from the IMF, all about who to contact if you fell for an advance fee fraud scam claiming to be from the IMF. All you have to do to get your money back is send your info and $150 to Barrister so-and-so to set up an account, […]
- Call Your Mark a Sucker
Scam explains that you haven’t received your money because you’re dealing with scammers, so please send your info…
- Sure it is
I love 419 scam emails that start out by saying that sure, most of the messages like this are fake, but THIS one’s real!
- FIB Scamming
Lame 419 scam: How likely is the FBI Director to contact someone using a GMAIL address? Update 2023: I vastly underestimated the use of Gmail by government officials, didn’t I?
- Stupid Scammer Tricks: Forgetting BCC
There’s something delicious about irony in spam. Yesterday, the spamtraps netted an advance fee fraud scam message that started out like this: Let me be honest with you. This information is just for you alone [emphasis added]. I would suggest that you try to fix it instead of making any trouble with it as my […]
- Now there’s an opening line!
I just spotted an advance fee fraud pitch in the spamtraps that started out with the greeting: Dear Trusting Friend. I suppose the scammer could have meant “trusted friend,” which is still odd for an introduction, but makes a little more sense. Of course, if you take “trusting” to the extreme—i.e. gullible—you’ve just described the […]
- New trend in 419 scams: UK Artists
In the past two weeks, a new variant of the advance fee scam has dropped into our spam traps: supposed UK-based artists needing help selling their works overseas. The classic Nigerian scam involves someone claiming to be the relative of a deceased or deposed dictator, general, etc. is trying to smuggle money out of the […]
- Nigerian Scams for Auction?
eBay must have some sort of blanket advertising deal with Google, because the “sponsored links” you get for some searches really don’t make any sense. Case in point: I did a Google search for the phrase, “nigerian scam,” and saw the following ad: Wow, when they say, “Whatever it is, you can get it here.”—they […]
- Darth Vader, 419 Scammer
I had set this spam sample aside without really looking at it back at the end of March. As I checked the folder this morning, the scammer’s supposed name jumped out at me. VADER DARTH CO-OPERATIVE BANK PLC UNIVERSITY BRANCH, GROVE HOUSE OXFORD ROAD MANCHESTER UK I AM WRITING TO LET YOU KNOW HOW I […]
- Spamming for God (multicultural edition)
Various outlets have reported on the recent appearance of evangelical spam—unsolicited bulk email which promotes religious messages instead of advertising products. It’s been pointed out that since CAN-SPAM refers to commercial mail it can’t be used to stop people who bombard you with other types of messages. I’ve seen 419 scams with religious trappings for […]
- Points for honesty?
This showed up in the spamtraps today: Subject: Truth of the matter Dear Sir, This letter can only define Nigeria Scam, a.k.a. 419. If this mail look like scam to you delete it, we are looking for serious minded person. As we all know, top officials do loot funds out of the country with non-residence […]