Skip to Content

Get the latest on Wrath of the Lich King on WoW Insider!
Holidash Blog
AOL Tech

Posts with tag scam

New E-Mail Scam Targets the Previously Scammed

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 1st 2008 at 5:21PM



As if you didn't feel bad enough about yourself after being taken in by that e-mail from the Nigerian prince enlisting your help to gain access to nonexistent millions, now you've got to worry about guarding yourself against a scam targeted at those who have already fallen victim to Internet con-men.

Those infinitely malleable 419 scams that harvest personal info from the less cautious among us are now targeting those who have already fallen for the scheme. E-mails are starting to land in in-boxes promising cash compensation to those who have been fleeced by a Nigerian based scam before.

Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing received one recently that read:
THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED AMONG THE 40 LUCKY VICTIM OF SCAMMED TO BE COMPENSATED WITH $500,000.00.FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS,THIS WAS CONCLUDED BY THE SENATE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA,SENATOR wALLIS KELLY WITH DELEGATE FROM THE UNITED NATION AND WORLD BANK AT THE AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT WHICH TOOK PLACE IN ADDIS ABABA IN (ETHIOPIA) AIMED AT REDEEMING THE COUNTRY'S IMAGE AND ALSO TO TRY TO PUT ANEND TO THE INCESSANT SCAM REPORTS BY FOREIGNER ESPECIALLY FROM USA AND AROUND THE GLOBE.YOU HAVE BEEN LISTED AND APPROVED FOR THIS PAYMENT AS ONE OF THE SCAMMED VICTIMS TO BE PAID THIS AMOUNT.
As usual, you should never give out personal information via e-mail, but if you feel so inclined, you can save your fellow human some trouble and engage in a little scam baiting. Every minute spent replying to your e-mails is time the fraudsters aren't trying to prey on someone else. [From: Boing Boing]

McCain Supporters Duped by 419 Scam?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 5:39PM

McCain Supporters Duped by 419 Scam
We know that overzealous partisan hacks on both sides of the aisle will buy into any crazy accusation tossed at their political opponents, but this is the first time we've ever heard of a group getting so desperate that they were taken in by a so called 419 scam (like those Nigerian princes that keep e-mailing you about their inaccessible fortune).

In the last, floundering days of the presidential campaign McCain supporters, smelling the encroaching ass-whomping, latched on to rumors of the existence of a tape that contained Michelle Obama admitting that Barack was not a U.S. citizen. What makes this unique is that instead of being the unfounded mumblings of "strategists," the tale of the tape originated from a freely hosted Wordpress blog under the name African Press International (API). Despite glaring evidence of the falsehood of the claim (such as the fact that API was based in Norway and not registered as an NGO as they asserted), it began to ricochet around the right-wing blogosphere.

As defeat at the polls became more likely McCain supporters and conspiracy theorists began to hound API to release the tape. Of course, API hemmed and hawed, claiming to have handed it over to FOX, then demanding money, then implying a vast left-wing conspiracy was preventing the release of the tape.

Somewhere along the line, the tale morphed. Suddenly, the tape in question was of Obama Jew-bashing at a party with William Ayers, and Rashid Khalidi (whom by the way John McCain funneled $500,000 in grants to as chairman of the International Republican Institute). And now it was in the hands of the L.A. Times. Right-wing bloggers started collecting donations to buy the tape (from the L.A. Times and the API). When the bid finally hit $150,000 suddenly API demanded $2 million for the release of the tape.

Though it's not known if any money was ever actually paid to the scammers, the evolution of the scam could easily fill an entire chapter in a sociology or psychology text book. When truly desperate, people will believe almost anything you tell them as long as it agrees with their world view, even when confronted with irrefutable evidence of its falseness. [From: Hard News, Via: Boing Boing]

Woman Mortgages Away Everything to Nigerian Scammers

by Ian Rowan, posted Nov 18th 2008 at 9:44PM


This would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Sweet Home, Oregon woman Janella Spears, surprisingly not related to Britney, fell victim to the oldest scam on the Internet. We are all familiar with the Nigerian e-mail scam that attempts to extort money from would-be victims with promises of millions of dollars if we would just send a nominal transaction fee via untraceable sources. Well, not all of us apparently.

Spears received an e-mail from a source that claimed that her grandfather, J.B. Spears, left a sum of $20 million for her to inherit. That promise ended up costing Spears $400,000 over more than two years.

Any time that she doubted the veracity of the e-mail correspondence she was sent convincing letters, on seemingly official stationery, from none other than FBI Director Mr. Robert Muller (sic), the President of Nigeria, and even President Bush. FBI Director Muller assured her, "The transaction you have with the Central Bank of Nigeria or any bank within Nigeria is noting (sic) but legal..." and President Bush warned her that a terrorist, "...at the Hearthrow (sic) Airport in England with Funds valued US $12,000,000 (cash) ... as he attempted to launder Funds to Iran for Terrorist activities." That sounds like Bush to us -- who wouldn't believe that?

Spears initiated so many wire transfers (ranging from $50 to $8,300 payments) to Nigeria that they popped up on the Department of Justice's watch list. In a Justice Department raid of Spears' house, in which they suspected her of money laundering, they discovered the extent that she had been conned. Spears had mortgaged her house, siphoned her husbands retirement account, and spent two years worth of her salary on the assurance that she was that much closer to the $20 million windfall...

Let that be a lesson. Chock this one down as just ridiculous. [From Katu.com]

Would You Fall For This?

by Dan Reilly, posted Nov 18th 2008 at 6:10PM


We understand that there are people out there who are gullible or uninformed, and that's why we try to help as much as we can. That said, we have never, ever seen a scam this obvious, at least not a real one. The sad thing is there are probably enough people that are dumb enough to fall for it, and therefore scammers who would try it, so it's not out of the question that this ruse actually exists. Scoff if you like, but halfway intelligent people still send money to Nigeria or think that a random link will really show them nude pictures of Jessica Simpson.

Thanks to sites like 419eater.com, we know that many of the criminals out there aren't exactly masterminds, which makes us wonder what other examples of unintelligent Web fraud are out there? There are all sorts of Fail sites, so we here at Switched propose that Scam Fail become the latest genre of captured stupidity. If you have any good examples of this, leave them in the comments below. We can't wait to see the depths of idiocy you've encountered on the Web.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't figured it out yet, don't put your credit card number into anything like that. Ever. [From: FAIL Blog]

Related Links:
Engadget HD

Crafty Crooks Get a 'Cheap' Blu-ray Player

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 3:45PM


Can't wait for Black Friday? Neither could two suspects in Virginia Beach. Reportedly, a crafty duo entered a local Wal-Mart late last week, with one placing a Samsung Blu-ray player in her cart while the other placed a DVD / VCR combo unit in his cart. Once that was complete, the two met in the pet section, swapped the unwanted DVD / VCR unit out for a Blu-ray deck and proceeded to checkout. The cute couple paid for dog food and a rather inexpensive DVD / VCR player, yet arrived home with dog food and an improperly boxed Blu-ray player. Moral of the story? Blu-ray adoption would clearly soar if manufacturers would just price the players right. (We kid, we kid.) [From: WTKR.com via CDFreaks]

As Economy Falters, Phishing and Spam E-Mail Scams Surge

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 9th 2008 at 11:35AM

As Economy Falters, Phishing and Spam Scams Surge
These are scary times for those with retirement savings tied to the markets. As things plunge faster and further than they have in years, many are crying recession and worse, while some others are seeing a boom. Many of those in the latter group are scammers, preying on people looking for answers to make a quick buck. Phishing attacks are surging now as people are being a little more emotional in their online banking habits, and a little less careful.

Phishing attacks -- essentially fake e-mails from familiar banks and other institutions masquerading as the real thing -- are on the rise, preying on people's panic about potential bank failures to get them to click through and enter their log-in details. Recent scam e-mails purporting to come from banks such as Chase and Washington Mutual are currently making the rounds.

Modern browsers like Firefox 3.0 and Internet Explorer 8 will warn you when you hit such bogus sites, but you can never be too careful. As always: Be wary of where you click, and if you're unsure that a given site is legit type in the URL to your bank by hand and log in from there. Think twice before reacting to some provocative e-mail subject line that's somehow related to protecting your financial assets, since those are precisely the sorts of phrases that are being used as bait by evildoing phishers. It's all too easy to fall prey to these tricks, so better to be safe than sorry. [From: USA Today]

Related Link:

12 Most Dangerous E-Mails

12 E-Mails to Watch Out For

by Dan Reilly, posted Sep 27th 2008 at 12:01AMFeatured Story



Yes, we know we've covered the biggest e-mail scams before, but criminals never stop coming up with new ways to mess you up via the Internet, so we've decided it's time for an update -- this time focusing on specific e-mails to watch out for (that is, if you want to avoid everything from garden variety financial scams and computer viruses to flat-out ID theft). As always, remember there are variations on each of these cons, so be wary of anything even resembling what you read in the following pages....

Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 22nd 2008 at 11:20AM

Phishers Hit the Phones, Start VishingHopefully we've covered enough tales of phishing woe that you're now cautious of clicking on links and entering in your personal info. We've also talked about the process of whaling, and how modern phishers are getting sneakier with their fake e-mails. Now, though, some are giving up on flooding your e-mail inbox entirely and instead heading for your voicemail inbox.

The process has been dubbed 'vishing' (which we don't think rolls off the tongue quite like 'phishing') and often entails a scammer using bogus services to trick the caller ID system on your phones into making you think your bank is calling you. You'll then be redirected to another number and prompted to enter in information like your Social Security Number, bank number, or PIN -- and you can guess what they'll do with that. Some scammers haven't quite given up on e-mail -- they're sending e-mails (instead of phone calls) and then expecting you to dial them up and enter all your personal info!

You'd never do such a thing, though, right? [Source: USA Today]

Watch Out: Fake News Phishing E-Mails Are Getting More Official-Looking

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 12:34PM


Last month we reported on a new tactic being used by phishers, those shameless people wanting your private info and access to your PC. They were sending out spam that looked like stunning news headlines in the hopes that you'd be suckered into clicking. Now, they're getting a little more cunning, going for somewhat less sensational headlines and more official looking e-mails that are even catching some security-savvy users off guard.

Valleywag received one such e-mail claiming Microsoft had purchased AOL and looked to be an official dispatch from MSNBC. It linked to a page that was appeared to be hosted at MSNBC.com, but behind the scenes routed clickers to a bogus Web site that prompted users to install a new version of Adobe's Flash plugin for Web animations. In actuality, the users were installing a Trojan Horse that gave attackers access to their PCs. More proof that everything you read on the Internet isn't true -- and that most people are definitely out to get you. [From: CNET News and Valleywag]

Internet Fraud Largely Ignored By US Prosecutors, Report Reveals

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 13th 2008 at 3:15PM

Internet Fraud Largely Ignored by Prosecutors
According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress (CAP), it's estimated that Internet fraud, whether it be scams or phishing or just plain 'ol spam, cost American consumers a whopping $7.1 billion in 2007. Last year, 20 states tracked complaints from Internet users and, across all the states, 20,000 cases of Internet fraud were reported. Despite these reports, the total number of prosecutions for Internet fraud in 2006 and 2007 combined was a whopping 55, meaning the vast majority of online perps got off without even being investigated.

That's a pretty disappointing success rate, to be sure. Much of the problem stems from the fact that many of these scammers reside in foreign lands, complicating prosecution. But, as we saw recently in the arrest of Albert Gonzalez and his purported international cohorts who stole 41 million credit cards, sometimes international locations aren't enough to dodge the long arm of the law. [Source: Reuters]

Most Commented On (7 days)

Switched Video

 



Featured Galleries

BlackBerry Storm
Death of Print
30 Reasons a Girl Should Call It A Night - Facebook Group

Switched Photo Galleries

AOL Tech Network


Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

Top Product Reviews

Weblogs, Inc. Network

AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Joystiq
Download Squad
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
BloggingStocks
Xbox 360 Fanboy
Autoblog
Big Download Blog
Fanhouse NFL Blog