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An Email with the Subject "Scamdex, Internet Scambusters Newsletter #309, 11-12-08" was received in one of Scamdex's honeypot email accounts on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:02:55 -0800 and has been classified as a Generic Scam Email. The sender shows as "Scambusters Editors" <reply@scambusters.org>.
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<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> Internet Scambusters (tm) The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud http://www.scambusters.org By Audri and Jim Lanford Issue #309 November 12, 2008 <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> Note 1: Easily change your subscription information by clicking the link at the very bottom of this newsletter. Note 2: Please share this newsletter with 3 or 4 of your friends or colleagues who you think will benefit from it. Hi Scamdex, Nigerian scams are always in the headlines but by now you'd think we've seen all the tricks these crooks have up their sleeves. Not so. This week, we want to let you know about 3 new twists on well known Nigerian scams. We also share a personal family scare related to identity theft, and our experience with how identity theft prevention company LifeLock performed in this situation. Before we begin, we recommend you check out this week's issue of Scamlines -- What's New in Scams? -- here. http://www.scambusters.org/scamlines/34.html Next, you may want to spend a moment looking at this week's most popular articles from our other sites: Answers to 7 of the Biggest Questions About Human Flight Photography: An Interview With Joe McNally http://www.7photographyquestions.com/audio-podcast/ Save Serious Money On Hotel Stays http://www.consumersavvytips.org/some_tips_you_cant_live_without_if_you_want_to_save_money_on.html Mistakes People Commonly Make Using Facebook http://www.photosharingnuggets.com/2008/11/couple-mistakes-people-commonly-make-using-facebook.html How Do You Take More Identity Theft Prevention Precautions? http://www.identitytheftfixes.com/how_do_you_take_more_identity_theft_prevention_precautions.html Now, here we go... <>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<> 3 New Nigerian Scams Uncovered <>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<> Here are three new clever twists to the Nigerian scam... Nigerian twist #1: Trust me -- send no money The scam: In London, England, a would-be renter is fooled into believing she's dealing with a legitimate apartment owner when he tells her there's no need to send an advance payment to him. The cunning crook spins a story about having trouble with previous renters and wanting proof of her ability to pay. But he suggests she should send some money -- about $2500 -- as an electronic payment to a friend or relative of her choice. That way, he says, it will prove she has the money but it will remain safe. Here's the catch: as proof of payment, he asks for a scanned copy of the transfer payment. A while later, posing as the friend or relative, he uses this copy to collect the money from a Western Union office. The solution: It's not clear if Western Union was fooled into thinking the document was an original or if they will pay out on presentation of a copy. All they would say is that they are investigating the scam. Meanwhile, the message is clear: not only should you not send electronic payments to someone you don't know and trust but also don't send them a copy either. More on rental scams on sites like Craigslist here. http://www.scambusters.org/craigslist.html ~~~ Nigerian twist #2: Send me the stuff -- I'll use PayPal The scam: Wise to the use of forged checks and stolen credit cards to pay for items they're selling, many vendors using services like eBay and Craigslist now insist they'll only accept payments via PayPal, especially to buyers who ask for shipment overseas -- usually to Africa. Fine. But what happens when you get an email apparently from PayPal saying your account has now been credited with the money you're awaiting? Well, if you don't independently check your account, you may have just received a fake message that's not from PayPal at all. It's easy to do if the buyer gets your email address and it's just as easy for scammers to design a message that looks like the real thing. And that's what they're now doing in a big way. The solution: Simple. As suggested above, check your PayPal account to make sure the money really is there. We covered other types of PayPal-related scams here. http://www.scambusters.org/paypalscam.html ~~~ Nigerian twist #3: It's OK -- we're the FBI, um, the President The scam: A resident of North Kenai, Alaska, sniffs out a scam when she receives a $30,000 check, supposedly from Nigeria's Central Bank, and is told to take 10% and forward the rest. She doesn't. Later she gets what seems to be an email from the FBI. It says they've been monitoring her email and investigating the bank and "confirmed your contract payment is 100% genuine and hitch free." She still doesn't bite, so a couple of days later the scammers send another message, this time from the "United Nations 2007 Compensations Payments Directive" saying the Nigerian government is concerned about its image and the President wants to pay the woman $300,000 compensation to redeem its good name! Now, of course, they just want her bank details so they can forward the money. She doesn't fall for that either. The solution: Talk about persistence! As usual, the warnings here are that you don't get money for nothing, never wire cash to someone you don't know, and don't give your bank details to someone you don't know -- even someone who says he's the President of Nigeria! For more information about Nigerian-type scams, check out these Scambusters articles related to the Nigerian fee scam. http://www.scambusters.org/nigerianscam.html http://www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html <>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<> A Personal Family Identity Theft Scare <>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<>~<><>~<> We recently got a call from our mother, who said she got a letter from the Social Security Administration about her request to direct deposit her Social Security check. Since she had not requested direct deposit from the Social Security Administration, she was very concerned. In the same day's mail was a letter about a new credit card application she had supposedly applied for. Again, she hadn't applied for a new credit card. She asked us if we thought this was identity theft. Unfortunately, it sounded VERY much like identity theft to us. Since we'd enrolled her with LifeLock's identity theft protection service, we had her call the LifeLock 800 number and talk to one of their customer service specialists. He also said this sounded like a case of identity theft and immediately swung into action. He was very helpful, and worked with her to quickly determine if there was a breach. As it turned out, our mother had recently opened a new bank account. We found out that the new bank had requested the direct deposit of her Social Security check into her account, and had applied for a credit card for her -- both without her knowledge. (That was obviously VERY disconcerting.) However more importantly, it turned out that her identity had NOT been stolen -- which was an enormous relief. We were all very satisfied with how well LifeLock handled the situation. Fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was very reassuring to discover they were there when we thought we needed them. If you want to learn more about LIfeLock, you can do so here: http://www.scambusters.org/preventidentitytheft.html That's it for today -- we hope you enjoy your week! - Please Check Out These Offers - They Keep Scambusters Free - - - - - - We Highly Recommend All of These Products - - - - - ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- Looking for a REAL Way to Protect Against Identity Theft? An identity is stolen every 2 seconds -- which is very scary. We've been searching for years for something (free or fee based) we could wholeheartedly recommend to our subscribers. And we've finally found it: LifeLock. LifeLock takes the worry out of identity theft: "We looked at a number of companies and found LifeLock had the best product for protecting people from ID theft plus much more. I wish we had found them before my wife and I recently became victims." - Bobby Joe Harris, Retired Chandler (AZ) Police Chief "I took all the precautions to fight ID Theft but never once thought about my son becoming a victim until he became one. Criminals don't care if you're 2 or 102, as long as they get what they want. "I have now turned to LifeLock to protect my children and only wish I would've known about LifeLock before this happened to my son." - Lisa Terwillegar, Hickory, North Carolina "I have dealt with the results of ID theft for more than three years and read about all the so-called solutions. Until LifeLock came along, I never thought I would see an answer to the problem. LifeLock can stop this crime!" - Paul Fairchild, Edmond, Oklahoma Find out how you can proactively protect your identity and make even your Social Security number useless to thieves. LifeLock is recommended by Scambusters.org. Get a 10% discount and 30 Day Free Trial when you use SCAMBUSTERS code. And be sure to find out about LifeLock's $1,000,000 guarantee. Visit: http://www.Lifelock.com/index.php?promocode=SCAMBUSTERS ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- Are You Sabotaging Your Own Success? Most people do. No matter how close they come, something always seems to hold them back. Truly successful people know what it is, and how to defeat it without struggle. Do you? The good news is there is a simple approach almost anyone can use to make their life a smashing success. "Absolute magic! 'How to Control Your Destiny Through Your Attitude' provides the tools to help you create the life you want for yourself. 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It's fast, easy, and you do NOT need a lot of money to get started. This short report will show you everything you need to know to get started now. Visit now for details: http://scambusters.org/a/affiliatesuccessplan.html ----------==========**********O**********==========---------- ===== About Internet Scambusters - Administrivia Copyright (c) Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved. To subscribe, visit: http://www.scambusters.org/ To remove yourself or change address options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TAwMjEyctMzsDKyMjAystEa0zJycnBycrA== (you might have to copy and paste it into your browser) This will take you off the Scambusters list. To send us feedback, do NOT click 'Reply.' Instead, please use our Feedback Form located at: http://www.scambusters.org/feedback.html The information we have on file is: Your name: Scamdex Your email: mark@scamdex.com Please do not send vacation notices or other autoresponders to us. This may take you off the Scambusters list. Scambusters is a public service from Jim and Audri Lanford. Since Scambusters is a public service and we receive thousands of emails, we cannot answer individual emails. For more about our privacy and legal policy, see http://www.scambusters.org/privacy.html Lanford Inc. 197 New Market Center, #115 Boone, NC 28607 To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TAwMjEyctMzsDKyMjAystEa0zJycnBycrA==