Venditoris: Beware of Scams

Have you received a notice like this (even with your name or email address included)?
Did you think it was legit?
What was your first, correct clue?

(Not that you were loved anonymously, not that you were incredibly lucky, not that didn’t recall buying a ticket)

It clearly is a spamming email designed to get you to respond so that the spammer can turn into a scammer or worse, a thief!

(He or she probably already is one -so don’t feel bad: you didn’t tempt them to steal from you; they were predisposed to break any number of US and International laws just by sending you the email.)

Your best response?

Feel good that you recognized it as a spam letter, for whatever reason, and that you promptly sent it to that black hole in cyberspace called “Delete”.

From: “evi johnson”
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE WON
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:21:13 +0200
WININNIG Reference Number: nn/nn/nn/nn/nn/n/n

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Looks like some school wunderkind has latched onto the Nigerian Scam idea and fashioned themselves a way to make money by email.

It is a scam, of that’s no doubt, starting with the fact that it was not addressed to me. There are many more clues, but we don’t want to show these nasty nerds how to fix their spammy scam to look more authentic.

Read and Reject!

Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 10:31:22 +0200
Subject: INFORMATION
From: “infolrpdraws208@libero.it”

LOTTO Rheinland-Pfalz
Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Strasse 2
DE-56073 Koblenz,
Rheinland-Pfalz,
Germany.

Ref num: AAA/nnn-AA/nnnn,
Batch: AAAA/00/00

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Whew!

They get harder to read and understand, but clearly are not what they claim or say they are.

This is Yet another Nigerian Letter (YANL) scam e-mail example with the names unchanged to show the guilty.

Date: Sun, 18 May 2008
From: “pharelljones” Subject: Kind Attn: Beneficiary with African and European Countries
To:
THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION
In Conjunction with the International Monetary Fund
Dalais Wilson, CH 1211 Geneva 10,Switzerland
Senior Human Rights Officer and international payment department

Kind Attn: Beneficiary with African and European Countries

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