Has anyone fallen for this reoccuring scam scenario on your email?

Question

It gives you some weird varied details asking you to be some kind of courier or receiver of some international monies; Ive never responded, but I was wondering how this bizarre scam attempts to play out to the next level. Anyone know?

Answer 1

They send you a fake money order or bank check for more money than you need for a particular transaction, with the expectation that you must send a piece of it to someone else. So like this guy who supposedly was in London offered to buy my boyfriend's car on craigslist, then he sent him a money order for $1000 more than he was asking, but that's because my boyfriend had to give $1000 cash to the 'shipper' who was picking up the car and shipping it to the buyer.



The bank check looked SO REAL and was drawn from an actual exisiting US-based bank. It took the US bank a few days to realize it was a forged version of their own checks, that's how good it was.



Luckily my boyfriend refused to give any cash until the bank had cleared the money order for at least 10 days (which is how long it takes for them to know if it's fake). The bank will initially cash it and the money will be in your account for about three days and you'll think everything's fine and it's cleared, but when it comes back showing it was a fake, they deduct all the cash from your account and the liability is all yours. INSANE.

Answer 2

They might request you pay some handing and administrative fees to transfer the funds.



They will might ask for all your personal information including social security number to file the paperwork and withholding with the IRS. With this they could open dozens of credit cards in your name and max them out. Later the creditors send bill collectors after you for payment.



They might request you bank account information to supposedly wire transfer the funds to you. They will use this to transfer the funds out of your account and into a untouchable/untraceable foreign account. When you allow electronics funs transfer it allows transfer in and out of your account.

Answer 3

They take all your details, then ask for money (lots of money) for administration fees. And again and again if you keep falling for it. Someone wrote here a short while ago, similar scam with lottery wins, they paid out 7,500 gbp, I have no sympathy for them, they let greed rule their brain!

Answer 4

i believe they send you a forged money order which will cash initially - you send them some of that money - they say keep the rest-, then when the bank finds out a few days later you are left owing the bank

Answer 5

never answer em just forget and delete them

Answer 6

Wake up and smell the coffee.... this is like asking what a junkie does after he gets heroine. How to handle spam ? - "Be neat - delete ! "



There are several reasons to not dare open spam anymore to report it without active security software running. Things are not as safe as "don't click the attachment". Just downloading the spam can infect the computer as well as simply "taking a peek". If there is a malicious picture in it - it is a virus:



New virus hides inside image files

http://veracity.univpubs.american.edu/weeklypast/101204/101204_techatau.html

Microsoft JPEG Vulnerability

http://whitepapers.silicon.com/0,39024759,60129423p-39000575q,00.htm

Microsoft JPEG Vulnerability and the Six New Content Security Requirements

http://whitepapers.silicon.com/0,39024759,60129423p-39000575q,00.htm

In November 2004, a critical Microsoft security vulnerability (MS04-028) was discovered which could allow attackers to embed malicious code inside JPEG image files. Until that time, JPEG image files were considered immune to attack. To effectively deal with this vulnerability, security and IT professionals need to incorporate six new and critical content security requirements into their networks.



THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER OPEN A SPAM !!!



Microsoft: How to handle suspicious e-mail

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishingdosdonts.mspx



Anti Phishing Working Group Org

http://www.antiphishing.org/

Report Phishing: Report phishing emails, pharming sites and crimeware to the Anti-Phishing Working Group and help stop this insidious threat to e-commerce. Click "Report Phishing" link below for instructions. What is Phishing and Pharming?

Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly, often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning.



FIGHT - SPAM...



These are excellent seemless well known and used programs. The free ones work best the more "agressive" the settings you use. These are not going to work with your normal ISP Subscription (AOL, MSN, Earthlink, Juno, etc) - they work with POP Mail you can set up with the accounts you have and not with the ISP software. The free ones are spam filters that will strike through the known spam subject line of the message with (*****) the five asterik stars in front of and in back of the spam subject line. I have used everything here and they generally do not miss or make mistakes. The shareware (buy) ones create a small toolbar and a seperate folder not allowing the spam into the Inbox. They all have quick settings and are very , very quick to set up.



Cactus Spam Filter FREE! [working-freeware]

http://www.codeode.com/spamfilter/

Cactus Spam Filter is a free easy-to-use spam blocker. It protects your inbox by learning to detect spam as it's being used. After a short while it has adapted to your personal mailbox and blocks out most of the junk e-mail. Since the filter becomes personal, spammers will not be able to fool it. Even though this is a brutal, merciless spam killer, no e-mails will get lost unless you delete them. Installation is very simple. No setup is required in your e-mail client; this spam stopper integrates seamlessly with all e-mail clients that use POP3. It has been successfully tested with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape, Opera, Mozilla, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, Pegasus Mail, IncrediMail, Foxmail, POP Peeper, Command Line POP Client, The Bat!, and Phoenix Mail.



SpamAssassin [working-freeware]

http://spamassassin.apache.org/

The Powerful #1 Open-Source Spam Filter Features: Wide-spectrum: SpamAssassin uses a wide variety of local and network tests to identify spam signatures. This makes it harder for spammers to identify one aspect which they can craft their messages to work around. Free software: it is distributed under the same terms and conditions as other popular open-source software packages such as the Apache web server. Easy to extend: Anti-spam tests and configuration are stored in plain text, making it easy to configure and add new rules. Flexible: Spam Assassin encapsulates its logic in a well-designed, abstract API so it can be integrated anywhere in the email stream. The Mail::SpamAssassin classes can be used on a wide variety of email systems including procmail, sendmail, Postfix, qmail, and many others. Easy Configuration: SpamAssassin requires very little configuration; you do not need to continually update it with details of your mail accounts, mailing list memberships, etc. Once classified, site and user-specific policies can then be applied against spam. Policies can be applied on both mail servers and later using the user's own mail user-agent application.



SHAREWARES:



CA (Computer Associates) Anti-Spam [shareware] (best)

http://home3.ca.com/STContent/Products/All_Products.aspx?sc_lang=en-US

CA Anti-Spam is the effective and easy-to-use spam filter that makes sure you get messages from people you know, while redirecting messages from people you don't. There are no complicated rules or filters to create or manage: CA Anti-Spam does it for you. And it works seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express to stop unwanted junk mail and fraudulent phishing scams, letting you take control of your Inbox. PC Magazine Editors' Choice Award 3 years running!





SpamBully 4 for Outlook and Outlook Express [shareware]

http://www.spambully.com/

End your spam nightmare and make email enjoyable again by keeping your Inbox free of annoying spam. Our intelligent spam filter for Outlook and Outlook Express analyzes email so effectively that in many cases it is more ...





NOTE: Do Not Even open unsolicited unknown sender email unless your pc is protected !



To Report Spam to the appropriate address, you must always include full message headers, or rejected:



SpamCop FAQ :

How do I get started reporting spam ?

http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/125.html



Federal Trade Commission (Report UCE - Unsolicited Commercial Email):

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/report.html

Report Spam to [e-mail]

To forward unwanted or deceptive spam to the FTC send it to [e-mail], and be sure to include the full email header. If you think you have been taken advantage of by a spam scam, file a complaint with the FTC online at www.ftc.gov. Complaints will help the FTC find and stop people who are using spam to defraud consumers.



UCE: (Spam) Definiton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam



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