Scam 419, everything you need to know about the 419 Fraud,Anti Scammer letters pages, forum, anti-scammer hints and tips.Pissing off Nigerian 419 Scammers one at a time.
Millions of Britons are being targeted by organized criminal gangs using the latest mass marketing techniques to defraud them of an estimated £3.5 billion a year.
Police and campaigners have urged victims of scams not to stay silent but to report their experiences as part of an international day of action aimed at raising awareness of fraud.
Scams are becoming more sophisticated and seem more plausible as criminals attempt to keep one step ahead of publicity and law enforcers, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), one of a number of organisations supporting the day of action.
They have warned that victims not only pay a high personal and financial price for fraud - but that the scams are often used to fund other crimes such as drug dealing and people trafficking.
Many people are now aware of the so-called Nigerian "419" scam letter or email, where fraudsters attempt to lure people into paying money up front in the hope of realising a much larger sum later, it said.
But Soca warned this scam is only the "tip of the iceberg" of a range of other frauds, including "boiler room" scams where worthless shares are sold at inflated prices to investors, fake lotteries, counterfeit cheque frauds, Ponzi schemes and fraudsters exploiting online seekers of romance.
Some fraudsters have even pretended to come from organisations tackling fraud - including Soca - offering to give previous victims "professional" help in recovering their money - in scams known as "fraud recovery" fraud.
Colin Woodcock, a fraud expert with Soca, said: "To anyone who thinks this sort of thing can't touch them we'd say complacency is a big risk.
"Many of us look at the sort of frauds that affect other people and feel confident we would never fall for them.
"But serious organised criminals are endlessly inventive and the UK is worth £3.5 billion to them every year through mass market fraud - they don't want to give that up.
Once people get wise to one scam, the criminals will switch to something else."
A Nigerian Catholic pastor has been charged with fraud after he supposedly made 57 million naira (about R2,8-million) in a Canadian visa scam, a court document showed on Thursday.
Father Felix Afolayan, emerged in the Lagos Magistrate Court on Wednesday and pleaded not blameworthy for making a "representation you knew to be false," the document said.
The 40-year-old priest was arrested about two months ago. He supposedly committed the offence between April and December last year and crooked 110 people by promising to get them Canadian visas, the document said.
The judge adjourned the case till July 2 and ordered the charged to pay bail of two million naira and provide two sureties of equal sums.
The offence of obtaining money through false pretences is usually called "419" in Nigeria, derived from a section of the criminal code that deals with such a crime. Nigerian authorities have intensify their fight against fraud.
Nigerian, or "419", scams are one of the most familiar types of fraudulent email currently hitting inboxes. Nigerian scam messages can also land via fax or letter. The messages usually claim that your help is needed to access a large sum of money, typically many millions of dollars. In fact, this money does not exist. The messages are an opening strategy designed to draw latent victims deeper into the scam. Those who begin a dialogue with the scammers by replying to a Nigerian scam message will finally be asked for advance fees supposedly required to allow the deal to proceed. They may also become the victims of identity theft.
The so-called "Nigerian scam" is one of the longest running scam. In fact, it predates the Internet and email. The scams are also known as "419 scams" after the appropriate part of the Nigerian criminal code. The scammers still use surface mail and faxes as well as email. There are a great many versions of this scam. Even though many originate out of Nigeria, hence the general term "Nigerian scam", it is certainly not only Nigerian based criminals that send them. In spite of the long life of this type of scam and the large amounts of publicity that it has received, many people around the world are still being conned out of substantial sums of money.
Fundamentally, the scam works like this. You receive an unwanted message that pretend to be as some manner of business proposal, request for assistance, notice of a potential inheritance, or opportunity to help an aid. Actually, there is a seemingly endless array of cover stories that the scammers use in order to draw potential victims into the con. In spite of this diversity, virtually all of the scam messages share a common theme. The messages all claim that your help is needed to access a large sum of money, typically many millions of dollars. The scammers use a variety of stories to explain why they need your help to access the funds.
The Serious and Organised Crime unit (SOCA) is important the UK’s involvement in a day of action to publicise the growing risk from online scam and other forms of extortion and criminal activity.
Taking place today, the campaign sees law enforcement bodies from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands coordinating to warn about scams 419 which cost the community an estimated £3.5 billion a year in the UK alone.
Technology is playing a major role in the appearance of new types of scam 419 according to SOCA. Although the people has got the warning about email scams - disgracefully emanating from Nigeria - other more complicated attacks are emerging all the time, the agency warned.
If you believe that you have been a victim of internet credit card fraud you can file a complaint through the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx.
The IC3 is co-sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). Complaints filed via this website are processed and may be referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for possible investigation. I understand any investigation opened on any complaint I file on this website is initiated at the discretion of the law enforcement and/or regulatory agency receiving the complaint information.
Filing a complaint with IC3 in no way serves as notification to my credit card company that I am disputing unauthorized charges placed on my card or that my credit card number may have been compromised. I should contact my credit card company directly to notify them of my specific concerns.
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Once again, it's significant to present you with information concerning the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Cyber criminals are not going to stop until the end of this event - they are launching new attacks of Scam, aiming to trick as many possible victims as possible. Let's get familiar with two new scam email campaigns revealed by security experts from Trend Micro.
Emails belonging to the first spam campaign inform possible victims about a new "contest" called "Final Draw" and supposedly being organized by the FIFA Organizing Committee. Receivers are asked to download the .doc attachment in order to see all the details of their winning. The aim of the creators of this attack is to gain victims' personal and financial information and use it for their further nasty activities.
The other spam campaign spreads messages written in poor English and punctual its recipients to open an attached .pdf file. The attachment asks its beneficiary to give certain information "in relation to a fund transfer transaction amounting to a whopping US$10.5 million. Upon agreeing to the bid, the recipient should supposedly get 30 percent of the said amount," Trend Micro notes.
The tactics of this campaign be similar to well-known 419 scam. The so-called 419 scam (aka "Nigeria scam" or "West African" scam) is one of the most well-liked scams in the world affecting millions of people. It starts with an email asking for help and talented a huge reward for that. However, victimized users just lose their money almost without a possibility to get them back.
Security experts warn all users that if they receive any e-mail that looks too good to be true, they may be almost 100% sure that it's a mare scam. If they don't know who sent them that email they are strictly recommended to delete it. These are two basic things that normal people should remember if they don't want to allow cyber criminals to trick them and steal their money.
The team behind the Firefox browser has caution users about a new kind of phishing attack.
The new phishing attack restore an inactive browser tab on the Firefox browser with a hateful phishing page designed to steal user names and passwords for e-mail and bank accounts from innocent users.
Firefox creative team leader, Aza Raskin, said that the attack, which only affects the latest version of Firefox, is simply preventable if users are cautious and check that the URL in the browser address page is correct before proceeding to enter any details.
So use Firefox old version to avoid Phishing scam for some time.
Do you know how to dot an SMS 419 scam, phishing attack, or forged payment confirmation? If you value your money, you should know what to look out for.
Although it is encouraging to see more and more businesses using SMS as a communication platform, it’s becoming easier for scammers to ploy consumers as a result.
South Africa has one of the highest mobile diffusion rates in the world, so it is no wonder that local businesses are increasingly using SMS as a means of communication with their clients. There are many profits to SMS, both for the businesses and the consumers they serve, but there is also a darker side to this method of communication.
Scammers will, and do, try anything to get their hands on your money. One method they like to use is 419 scams or advanced-fee fraud as they are also called. The 419-scam originated in Nigeria and is named after the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with fraud.
On e-mail, these scam letters give space for a lot more information and generally speak of an inheritance (worth billions) that the sender is due. The beneficiary, however, needs your bank account in which to deposit the funds and promises the bank account holder a percentage of the inheritance for use of the bank account. As a show of faith, or in order to release the funds, the sender then asks you to deposit a certain amount into another account first. Once you deposit the money, you obviously never hear from the scammer again. They typically get several tranches of money out of victims. The more the victims give, they more they’ve already committed, and the more they keep giving, up to a point.
The SMS version works in a very similar way, but the message is generally focused around a cash prize you have won, and asks for a deposit in order to release your winnings. “Congratulations!” is a common word used in these advanced-fee scam SMSes. Another identifier is the use of a non-professional e-mail address. The message will pretend that the prize is from a known brand, such as Nokia, but the e-mail address included in the SMS will be a Yahoo or Hotmail address.
Fraudsters have also taken to using SMSes for phishing attacks. Phishing also has its origin in e-mail, but banks have very successfully managed to decrease these attacks through user education. This is a big reason why fraudsters have now moved to using SMS for phishing, because users do not generally expect it.
People also make the mistake of assuming that SMSes are more secure than e-mail, because it seems like a more personal communication method. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Just like a bank will never ask for your confidential information over e-mail, they should never ask for them by SMS either.
SMS phishing scams are, in a way, even more dangerous than their e-mail counterparts, because it is often a real person that asks you for your details over the phone. For instance, you may receive an SMS (that has been replicated from the official version) alerting you that you have logged on to your Internet banking. The end of the message will read along the lines of “If you have any enquiries, please contact (number)”. Of course you will panic if you are nowhere near your Internet banking service, and immediately phone the number provided. The person who takes the call, however, will unknowingly (comment: I think this means the fraudster doesn’t know he/she is one) be a fraudster who will ask you for your Internet banking details. Once they have these, nothing stops them from accessing your banking online and transferring money wherever they want.
A similar scam fraudsters cotton on to involves fake payment confirmations. Again, an official bank SMS will be replicated, but this time it will be a typical bank SMS payment confirmation. The scammer will purchase goods from you, send a fake payment confirmation and then you will release the goods to them without knowing that the confirmation was a fraud.
These SMSes are sent from individual phones, via international SMS providers or occasionally via a local wireless application service provider (WASP).
Security vendor Trend Micro is warning users of yet another spam operation using the forthcoming Fifa World Cup 2010 tournament as bait.
The unwanted mail carries a .PDF file attachment which purports to contain particulars about a 'lottery prize'. The beneficiary is asked for personal information which must be sent to the contact or email sender before the prize can be claimed
What was interesting [was that] the purported sender of the email - one Mrs Michelle Matins, Executive Vice President - was also the participant for the 419 scam, aka the Nigeria scam," wrote Jovi Umawing of Trend Micro's technical communications department.
"Some samples retrieved were obviously free from attachments, and they were puportedly sent by a certain FIFA vice president named Geoff Thompson. Further investigation revealed that he too was associated to an old scam."
According to Umawing, Trend Micro spotted the first World Cup scam back in 2009, which also involved the receiver winning an online lottery.
"Users should be wary of more of these kinds of attacks or alternative of these attacks as the sports event draws closer," he wrote.
Phone scams can contain the consumer scamming the phone company, the phone company scamming the customer, or a third party scamming either of them.
It can include receiving an unwelcome call or text on your cell phone offering, for example, free ringtones or advising you have won a prize. If you react, the scammer will start taking your money through charges to your cell phone.
Or you may get a voicemail telling you to call a phone number with an '809', '284', '876' or other 3 digit area code to find out about a pale relative, claim a prize, or engage in sex talk etc. Although you think you are making a family long-distance call within the USA, you are connected to a number outside the USA, and incur high international call rates.
You may also be stair and told you have won a central grant and all you need to do is pay the taxes, either by wiring the money or by providing your checking account numbers over the phone. Its all about theft your money.
Some people have found sites contribution free pornography, however to access it, you need to download a small piece of software. When they agreed, their computer was briefly disconnected from the Internet, and then when the modem reconnected, they ended up dialing a number in a distant country and ran up enormous phone bills.
The scammers rely on people being uncomfortable about the sites they have visited, and therefore not lodging a complaint.
As the reputation of credit cards and Internet shopping grow, so does the possibility that you will become a victim of Identity Theft. One's information can be simply accessed by anyone who has your social security number and other identifying information such as credit card bills or processed checks.
1. Buy a Shredder. Shredding your old bills, statements, receipts and credit & bank statements is the first and perhaps most effective way to stop dumpster divers from admission your information. Before throwing away anything with private information, slice it.
If you're not sure that the info can be used to steal your identity, shred it anyway.
2. When using an ATM be weary of those standing next to you. If someone is standing too close behind you, do not be frightened to ask them to step back.
3. Hidden camera detectors. In addition to prying eyes, also be conscious of surveillance strategy in stores, ATMs, gas stations, and anywhere you may be using a credit card or signing your name. There are many small and reasonable hidden camera incidence detectors on the market.
4. Treat your checks like money. Would you stuff your mailbox with wads of cold cash? Mail theft is perhaps easier than dumpster diving when it comes to theft private information, and much cleaner. Mail checks by dipping them off at the Post Office and if you do order bank checks via the web or mail, have them delivered via registered mail or FedEx.
5. Biometrics services like fingerprint or voice detection are becoming popular in the war against identity theft or account hacking. Voice biometrics works by digitizing a summary of a person's speech to produce a stored model voice print. Many banks are now offering this service; ask yours about adding this to your bank account security options.
6. Make a list of all of your credit card numbers, passwords, usernames and bank account numbers and protector them in a safe place. Do not keep them on your computer, particularly if you use peer to peer file sharing software.
7. When applying for a credit card demands that your photo be placed on the card. There are also companies which will place your photo on your checks.
8. Write on the back of your credit card "Ask To See My ID" , most citizens at the register treat credit cards like cash not asking for ID. If they do not ask or overlook to do so, ask them why they have not.
9. When you move be sure to register your new forwarding address with the Post Office and also notify all of your credit cards, banks, and contributions services personally of your new address. If they are still sending confidential information to your old address, cancel your card or account.
10. Don't carry your social security number or credit cards you don't use on you. You are not necessary to carry a social security card so lock it up. If you're not using your credit cards, keep them in a safe place with your social security card.
Computer security specialists warn that Facebook users have been hit with a series of data-stealing attacks in the past week as cyber crooks increasingly stalk social-networking websites. This attacked is called 419 Scam.
Watch this ......
Security software publisher Symantec has warned soccer fans to Internet scams relating to the upcoming World Cup, launching a website, http://www.2010net threat.com, to feature the dangers.
According to Paul Wood, senior analyst at Symantec Hosted Services, the tournament, which attracts the concentration of more than 1 billion soccer fans worldwide, is tempting cybercriminals.
"Traditionally, any large-scale generous event has shown an increase in all kinds of cyberthreats," said Wood.
"Phishing attacks increased by 66 percent during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
"The fact that two underwater communications cables landed on South African coast last July will exacerbate the threat levels; history also shows that malicious activity increases in a country after new bandwidth is made available."
Symantec has already installed additional network sensors in South Africa and other southern Africa countries to check traffic and feed details to customers who are looking to take steps to secure their networks against additional threats.
"For example, two of our configured partners in Africa have submitted unique malevolent files that have not been seen elsewhere by Symantec," said Wood.
Much of the threat activity will not be new to the world of cybercrime - so-called 419 scams, spam and phishing attacks will face users in the guise of special offers for the event.
Gordon Love, Africa regional director, Symantec, said http://www.2010netthreat.com will advise people on how they can protect themselves against such attacks and will stay the alert for new varieties of scam.
However, scammers are always finding new ways of duping people into disclosing their personal information. Being well informed and alert is as important as keeping up to date with the latest protection software updates.
"The rule is, if something looks too good to be true, then it's likely to be a scam," said Love.
I got a letter from Paypal (fake) . email id is ssbpym@yahoo.com.
Notification of Limited Account Access
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in
the PayPal system. We recently noticed the following issue on your account:
Unusual account activity has made it necessary to limit sensitive
account features until additional verification information can be collected.
We have been notified that a card associated with your account
has been reported as lost or stolen, or that there were
additional problems with your card.
Case ID Number: PP-071-362-996
Please fill in all the details that are required to complete this verification process.
To do this we have attached a form to this email. Please download the form and follow the
instructions on your screen. NOTE: The form needs to be opened in a modern browser which has
javascript enabled (ex: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, Safari 3, Opera 9)
Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but
to temporary suspend your account.
