Spam Can Be Fun - Part II

[Annihilannic]

Following up on 2ffat's earlier thread on the subject, it seems that spam is coming from higher and higher sources as time goes by!

Subject: THIS MESSAGE IS FROM PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA.
Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 06:54:32 -0700
From: OFFICIAL MESSAGE<goodluck@president.nig>
Reply-To: <goodlluck_jonathan@qatar.io>


OFFICE OF THE  PRESIDENCY
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
ASO-ROCK VILLA ABUJA
NIGERIA.
 
TELEPHONE +2347039105347
 


 
Our Ref:FGN/PD/C/H/X/01/2010.



  
IMMEDIATE PAYMENT OF YOUR FUND.
 
Sequel to the submission of all immediate payment I received at my desk from the newly constituted committee on foreign payments, I whish to clearly inform you that I have personally taken it upon myself to see that you are well treated and compensated accordingly. It is quite unfortunate that I inherited so much debt from my predecessor Late President Yaradua / but I have decided to erase the dent melted on this great nation by our past leaders by making sure that your fund is been transfer to your nominated bank account.
 
Based on this, I discovered that the policies put up by the past regime of Olusegun Obasanjo affected your fund, All the effort to pay you could not work following the bill passed by the past legislative house. I want to assure you that there has being change in policies. We want to redeem the image of our country.
 
We have to pass a present bill now if you are unable to claim your fund  following the instruction/directives that will be given to you. A committee has been set up to monitor these funds in banks which are yet to be claimed. They should get any such payment cancel and return to the Federal Treasury Account as unclaimed deposit. We have to direct you right away on how you can claim your fund knowing what you have suffered in the time past. I understood that you have spent huge amount of money to claim your fund. I am committed to put smile on your face if only you can comply according by contacting the right person in charge of your transfer and the only money you have to pay is (VAT) and bear in mind the Authorised bank to handle your transfer is (CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA) and immediately I hear from you I will give you the contact information of the CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR for you to contact him for your transfer.

 
Kindly get back to me immediately you receive this message thanks.
 

 
Thanks.
 
Yours Faithfully,
 
PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN,
PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Telephone +2347039105347

I wonder what's next... divine spam??

Annihilannic.

 

[Welshbird]

Boo. I only ever get mine from nigerian priests...

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[Noway2]

I recently got on from F.B.I claiming that I was under investigation. It was either for accepting Nigerian funds or they were trying to verify that my information was correct so that they could legitimately release these funds to me.

The wording and grammar made for hilarious reading and I shared it with some co-workers who all got a good laugh. Of course, the FPI address really came from some bogus .co.uk domain as well as other obvious signs if you just looked at the headers.

 

[kwbMitel]

Although most spam and phishing emails are quite obvious, some are not.

To be honest, I cannot say how I would have responded to the following scam if I had been caught unaware.

Read the following and give an honest opinion.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

For anyone not familiar with snopes.com, It is an Internet Urban Legend debunking site. If you are not comfortable using the link above, you can try

Google: jury duty phishing

If you're still uncomfortable, you're learning

*******************************************************
Occam's Razor - All things being equal, the simplest solution is the right one.

 

[Noway2]

I think the call claiming that an arrest warrant has been issued would shock many, possibly to the point that they would give out identifying information.

However, my initial thought as I started to read the article was that the courts would NOT contact you via phone for this type of notification. Such a notification would either be via mail, probably certified, or by the Sheriff.

My second thought was, that at least in my case, my phone numbers, especially ones that I might answer are something that I keep VERY private. While with sufficient due process, a court agent could undoubtedly obtain the number(s), they are not something that they will have readily available as part of a file. Jury duty is typically picked from either drivers license records or voter registrations, neither of which have a (valid or at least current) phone number attached. Further, unless I recognize the number, I won't answer and I doubt the phisher would give out a legitimate caller ID or number as this would be traceable.

My third thought was, that even if this type of matter were to be dealt with by phone, I would be sure to get the name and contact information. I would then look up and contact the supposed responsible agency directly, not using any phone numbers provided by the court agent and try to verify personally.

I also find it highly unlikely a warrant would or could be issued for failure to respond to a mail contact that was not sent in a guaranteed fashion. While the postal system is highly reliable, given what they do and how they do it, it is not infallible. Consequently, it doesn't seem right that arrest issuance could be made upon failure to receive regular post.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Read the following and give an honest opinion.
If a warrant has been issued for your arrest, it will be resolved in person. No court will settle the matter over the phone.


--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[kwbMitel]

NoWay and CajunCenturion. I consider myself to be a highly sceptical person and would like to believe that rational thought would apply if I was called by an "Authority" and told I had broken a law. My honest answer is I don't know. I think I MAY have tried to prove a mistake had been made and that I am not the person they are looking for. If asked for proof, I'm not sure how I would have proceeded having not been warned. I'd like to give answers like yours. I know these things, but in the heat of the moment I think defensive instincts kick in and rational thought becomes secondary.

*******************************************************
Occam's Razor - All things being equal, the simplest solution is the right one.

 

[Noway2]

You are right. One never knows how they will react until it happens. The only thing you can do is try to be as prepared for something like that as you can.

The thing about the phone is that it has a way of catching you off guard and it demands an immediate response. A mailing, being a warrant, or a fake debt collection scam, or anything of the sort, you can take the time to approach rationally.

This is one of the reasons why I have a personal policy of if I don't know you and I am not expecting your call, I won't answer the phone. If it is important, they will leave a message. If the caller ID is blocked, my phone will simply drop the call on you. Calling someone and concealing your identity puts you at an advantage. It is a game that I refuse to play. This gives me the ability to take in the information, process it, and decide upon a response.

 

[Sympology]

Easy answer to ALL these phone scams.

"Hello I'm from xyz and I calling you about a problem....but i need to confirm some details......"

"No problem. Can I have a number to call you back on please"

Now if they refuse...you refuse. Tell them to send you a letter.

If they accept, do one more thing. Get THEM to confirm some details only they would know. Postcode and sort code would be good start. Again if they refuse. Tell them to mail you.

I had a right go a HSBC about this sort of thing. Got a call saying it was urgent and wanted all kinds of details. Wife refused, they got stroppy and refused to answer her questions. She hung up. Wrote a snotty letter and got a grovelling appolgy and turned out to be no more than a marketing call!
Idiots!

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

 

[kwbMitel]

Getting them to give you a number to call back is not sufficient. A well organised effort can overcome this method quite easily.

The only recourse is silence.

*******************************************************
Occam's Razor - All things being equal, the simplest solution is the right one.

 

[Welshbird]

I always refuse to talk to my bank, as they won't give me information to prove who they are until I have laready proved who I am.

Actually, I have two bank accounts. One(Lloyds TSB) will ing and demand information, the other (Smile - the online bit of the Co-op) will ring and ask me to call them on the number I already have. That second option works fine for me.

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[flapeyre]

My bank will send me an e-mail, which tells me to go to their website to log in and look at it. They always link to their homepage, where there is a sign-in.

I also subscribe to an identity-theft prevention service, which periodically scans those shady stolen credit-card databases circulated by hackers. If any of my credit card numbers should be found in therein, I'll get an alert, and the credit card company in question will be directed to issue new cards with a different account number.

On another note - the Nigerian scams seem to be picking up again. They have been showing up in my spam folder in the past month or so. Good for a laugh. But it's a shame that some people actually believe this garbage.

-- Francis
Et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.

 

[philhege]

We advertised a house for rent on Craigslist and got the famous check from Nigeria. It was for five times the rent. "Just take what you need and send me the balance", sez he.

The check's still in my desk drawer. 'Tards.

-------++NO CARRIER++-------

 

[2ffat]

The check's still in my desk drawer.

I would have framed it and the letter and put it on the wall!


James P. Cottingham
[sup]I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229![/sup]

 

[philhege]

I keep it right next to the floppy disk with a copy of the ILoveYou virus saved on it.

-------++NO CARRIER++-------