OT Paypal scams

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kiev4a

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I love the Paypal scammers

Got a message today supposedly from Paypal -- Nice graphics and warning to watch out for scams. It said my account had been charged $122 and I needed to confirm or deny it (both opions I am sure would have required me to give my Paypal password.). About every third word was spelled wrong and the sentence construction was obviously from someone who uses English as a second or third language. The amazing thing is I'm sure some relatively intelligent people actually bite on the message.
 
I used to get about four a week but they've eased off now. The first time I got one I did click on the link (of course I now know Paypal emails don't include clickable links) and saw a suspicious URL before I realised it was a scam. Only then did I notice the poor grammar.

If you forward the spoof emails to spoof@paypal.com they do actually close the sites down.
 
that reminds me.. I haven't heard anything from my new business partner in Nigeria.. he must be having a difficult time getting our joint account set up with the money I gave him
 
For anyone interested, there is a utility called spoofstick. I don't know if it works with anything other than IE, but for IE it puts a bar at the top of the browser, just below the area that lists the url you are supposedly on. The spoofstick bar then lists the url you are actually on. If they agree, you should be OK. But if IE has been tricked into thinking it is at the Paypay url, but spoofstick reports you are at Alexis' Scammer's Bar and Grill, you might want to consider hitting the back button and running your spyware and adware checkers.

Actually, I just checked the site http://www.corestreet.com/spoofstick/ and they show downloadable versions for both IE and Firefox. As always, scan any download in case of hacker attacks on a site.
 
I think the man in Nigeria has been replaced by someone else, but I can't remember where the last man was from who offered me a large amount of money to help him move some money out of whatever country he was in.

Dick
 
JoeFriday said:
that reminds me.. I haven't heard anything from my new business partner in Nigeria.. he must be having a difficult time getting our joint account set up with the money I gave him
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It might have been on this site on another thread, but there was a url for a reported phish of a phish in Nigeria, where the supposed victim actually got the phisher to send him money, join his fake church, and other hilarious shenanigans. If I can find that I will put it up here again. I guess sometimes there is justice.
 
Which one of you guys is entering me in all those international lotteries. I never enter but I keep getting messages telling me I've won, so someone here must be doing me a favor🙂
 
oftheherd said:
It might have been on this site on another thread, but there was a url for a reported phish of a phish in Nigeria, where the supposed victim actually got the phisher to send him money, join his fake church, and other hilarious shenanigans. If I can find that I will put it up here again. I guess sometimes there is justice.
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A couple years ago somebody scammed the scammer and actually got him to show his face on a public-view webcam on the street. I can't seem to find the link to the story, but it was hilarious!
 
dmr436 said:
A couple years ago somebody scammed the scammer and actually got him to show his face on a public-view webcam on the street. I can't seem to find the link to the story, but it was hilarious!
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Yes, well, I am a sad enough case 🙁 that I DO have that URL, also the one for the e-bay scam where the scammer got sent a pile of junk and had to pay import duty on it 😀

http://www.thenest.nu/archive/scam_letters/

http://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/
 
oftheherd said:
It might have been on this site on another thread, but there was a url for a reported phish of a phish in Nigeria, where the supposed victim actually got the phisher to send him money, join his fake church, and other hilarious shenanigans. If I can find that I will put it up here again. I guess sometimes there is justice.
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Here is it... VERY funny!
 
this reminds me of the various 'russian bride' emails that I get.. 'women' living in russia who tell me they read about me on "the dating site" and quickly progress (within maybe 2 or 3 emails) to 'telling their friends all about me and planning a visit.. now, when I say within 2 or 3 emails, that's the number of emails they send me.. the number I send them is usually 1 asking "who are you?" and that's about all.. and yet they allegedly take a leave of absence from their job to take an extended trip to see me.. and yet all they actually know about me is my first name and my email address.. kinda hard to plan a trip when they don't know where I live

occasionally I'll drag it out a while to see how long it takes before they ask for money (the average is about 6 emails) and how long I can keep them writing with my feeble excuses of "didn't my money transfer get there yet??".. it's amusing for a guy who's bored at work

oh, and the women are invariably about 28, drop-dead gorgeous, and usually named Inga.. that must be code for "golddigger" in russian
 
Brett, carry on doing that. There's nothing like replying to a junk email to ensure you get more in the future.

Steve
 
the russian bride scam doesn't quite fall into the junkmail category.. they are individuals who look up profiles on yahoo and contact them selectively.. responding to one scammer has no bearing on what future scammers choose to do.. as long as I have a viewable yahoo profile I'll be a target for russian brides

it actually doesn't even bother me.. the letters are very entertaining to read, in a pathetic sort of way
 
Only this week I had a warning email from Ebay regarding the seller 'dna-2day'. They advised caution as this person was a potential fraud risk.

Just thought I'd let you guys know.

Paul
 
sunsworth said:
Brett, carry on doing that. There's nothing like replying to a junk email to ensure you get more in the future.

Steve
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EXACTLY! When you respond, it verifies that your address is valid. That's why you should never respond to any spam, even ones with an opt out option. If you click opt out it verifies that your address is valid and adds you to even more lists.
 
Unless of course you have a hobby of greeting salespeople at the porch with a shotgun. (2nd Hand Lions for those who didn't see it, or see the cut scenes. Garth (the narrarator brother), unbeknownst to Hub was filling out all the junk mail cards he could find, hence the steady stream of solicitors.)
 
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XAos said:
Unless of course you have a hobby of greeting salespeople at the porch with a shotgun. (2nd Hand Lions for those who didn't see it, or see the cut scenes. Garth (the narrarator brother), unbeknownst to Hub was filling out all the junk mail cards he could find, hence the steady stream of solicitors.)
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LOL! I must have missed the part of him filling out the junk mail cards! 🙂 I just thought the salespeople were coming around because of the rumor that the old men had lots of $$$ stashed around.

(Not to drag this more off topic, but ...) That was a great film, one of my faves in recent years! 🙂 Just something about the fantasy/reality and not knowing for sure which is which. 🙂 If you like that angle, and you liked Second Hand Lions, you'll also probably like Big Fish and The Village. 🙂
 
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