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Weird Business-Proposition Emails

They keep on coming, email address registered in Japan.

Hello,

Your Urgent Attention is Needed pls. With a positive anticipation, I come to you in spite of all odds to ask for your great expected understanding. I was moved by the status of your person to ask for your assistance in having my investment intention actualized,however is not mandatory nor will i in any manner compel you to honour against your will,

My name is Maimuna kojo ,19 year of age, I am a student of high school before I lost my parents in a car accident last year, so I have been out from school and been looking for a sincere person that I will trust and love.

I am the only child and daughter of my late parents and that has made me to run away from our family house because my uncles are after my life to take away my inheritance which my late father left for me in a Bank . My entire dream is to find somebody that I can trust with my future life and inheritance and also who will be able to invest it wisely in any lucrative business.

Nobody knows about the inheritance which worth $10.5 million dollars in Cash deposited in a Bank with my name as the next of kin. And I want you to also keep it very confidential till we can be able to transfer this money from the Bank to your country and I will fly to join you immediately for future plans of continue my education once a join you in your country.

I have to trust somebody to save my future and that is why I am trusting you now I want you to understand my critical situation and give me the love and assistance that I need, so that I will have a better life and also enjoy my inheritance with you. I will tell you more about myself as soon as I hear back from you, your interest to assist me and also build more trust to be able to have a better understanding.
I look forward for your urgent response, thank you.


regards

Maimuna kojo
 
Scammers scammed
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/tra ... 90941.html

MANCHáN MAGAN

Sat, Mar 06, 2010

MAGAN'S WORLD: QUITE HOW delicious the revenge that American groups are exacting on Nigerian internet scammers was only brought home to me while travelling around east Africa recently. Scam-baiters are turning the tables on the scammers, luring them as far from Nigeria as possible, to the most dangerous hot spots in Africa, with promises of money.

Their trick is to reply to the fraudulent e-mails, offering money if we help smuggle funds out of Nigeria, that we’re all familiar with, and offering grants to set up a branch of an evangelical church that they claim to represent if the scammers travel to a nearby country to collect it.

In one classic example, the baiters offer a Nigerian scammer $200,000 but say he must collect it in Chad, one of the most dangerous countries in Africa. They assure him that if he buys a one-way ticket all his needs will be looked after when he arrives. They convince him not to bring any money or even a change of clothes. The only condition is that he wear a bright-pink sash and a white robe with anti-Islamic markings, so they can recognise him. Chad, being a Muslim country, is not the safest place for a Christian missionary to wear a robe emblazoned with anti-Muhammad lettering.

When he gets to N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, they e-mail him to say there’s been a delay and he needs to wait. A few days later they procrastinate further, dragging it out for three weeks while he gradually gets more desperate, living without food and sleeping rough. When he’s at his lowest ebb they send him a fake receipt as proof that the money is now waiting for him in a Western Union office 600km away, in a town called Abéché, on the road to Darfur. Their aim is to get him as far from home as possible, as the farther he goes the more alien his clothes, features and bearing will be, and the less likely anyone will be to help him.

While a white man can easily muddle his way through Africa using money and ignorance to smooth the way, Africans from other regions, tribes or faiths are treated with a little more suspicion. Despite speaking several languages, the man probably still couldn’t make himself understood in Chad.

Eventually, he manages to convince someone to drive him to Abéché with the promise of $500 when they get there, but of course there is no money awaiting him, and the poor man finds himself in even more trouble. The driver turns hostile, and at some point they encounter a rebel attack and barely escape injury. All of this is communicated back to the Americans by e-mail and posted on the baiters’ message board: “I am begging you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, rescue us! Please come!” Each new humiliation is relished in postings such as “Knee- slappingly funny” or “He could seriously get killed; am I bad for thinking that’s pretty cool?”

In all they keep the unfortunate scammer waiting three months in Abéché, constantly thinking up new plans to frighten or humiliate him. At one point they tell him his mother has died; at another they send him a document in Arabic to hand in at the Western Union office; it reads “I am a criminal. Please arrest me. I love George Bush. I think he should invade Chad and remove this ugly country from the map.”

The scammer did eventually make it home, and he’s back sending out spam again, so before you delete the next e-mail from a Nigerian seeking help to launder money, spare a thought for the ordeal he may have been through.

* See 419eater.com.
* Manchán Magan performs his play Broken Croí/Heart Briste at Project Arts Centre, Dublin, from March 15th to 20th
 
It's very, very malicious, :twisted: but since there's no effective policing of the scammers, it's the only way you're going to get in any sort of retribution.
 
I wasn't sure whether it was just phishing for my bank account details, or whether was attempt to embroil me in money laundering, but it was certainly a scam. Google doesn't get any hits for this, but there's a Cefin C & F, which looks like it's a money laundering scam.

http://www.bobbear.co.uk/cefin-consulti ... nance.html


Ceffin C & F is one of the leading providers of consulting services in the earth. Our success depends both on high quality of services and on professionally managed and reliable business processes.

This is the reason why quality is our main concern. However, the only way to reach top-notch quality in our business is permanent struggle for quality and engineering of very stable procedures.

It is not possible to reach high quality standards without dedicated personnel striving for flawless operation of processes and projects in their daily life. Currently we have a Financial Manager opening. No deadlines for applications are set.

The job of Financial Manager includes processing of money transfers, sent to his bank accounts by company clients. Upon receiving a transfer the Financial Manager has to redirect it to the account specified by our dispatchers. All you need for this job are: 3-4 free hours a day, your wish, ability to work in a team and responsibility. The initial wages will equal five% of total turnover.

Req's to Candidates:

* To have an opportunity in any working hours to go to closest WU location and make money transfer.
* Have a skill to communicate and access to the Internet.
* Be able to check your email several times of day
* Foreign language, English is better.
* Should have bank account
* twenty years old and more

What we offer:

* Opportunity of increase in your earning.
* Generous wages. Your earnings will originally make 5 % from every transaction. After 5 remittances if you will operatively work and correctly, your salary raises up to 10 percent.
* Free seminars and training courses, after six months of good job.

If you are interested in this opening, reply at our e-mail: [email protected]

2010 © Ceffinc C & F
All right reserved.
 
It's very, very malicious, Twisted Evil but since there's no effective policing of the scammers, it's the only way you're going to get in any sort of retribution.

Um, how do they actually know that the guy did any of this? Because he said in his emails he did? I'm not sure i'd believe that :?

I had a go at counterscamming an Ebay scammer once, by taking it through to the end but instead of wiring him the agreed money, i tried telling him that i'd set up the wire transer and all my money was tied up in it but they wanted an extra £20 transfer fee.

Didn;t work though, he just emailed back and said "just send me what you have" :roll:
 
It's not exactly a business proposition, but it's a little odd. This was in my mailbox this morning (key points highlighted, though I'm skipping the obvious grammatical errors):
USPS OFFICE AUTHORITY
P.O BOX 55, NEW YORK NY, 10116-0555
MAIL TO:[email protected]

This is to notify you that we have intercepted your parcel from DHL/UPS courier service from delivering the parcel to you for security reasons as stated below.

1. Our scanning system detected your parcel containing a confirmable ATM CARD. Before the parcel could be delivered, you are obliged to obtain A Duly Sworn Affidavit from the Spanish High Court in Spain to back up the the origin of the Parcel,this is in line with the Anti Terrorist Campaign due to the Law Implemented by government of United States of America to protect and reduce the terrorist activities.

We kindly advice you to contact the agent in Madrid, Spain to get the Sworn Affidavit for you. Please note that the cost of the Sworn Affidavit costs only $154 which must paid by the receiver of the parcel.Below is the contact details of the agent in charge. He will advice you on how the payment should be made so please contact him immediately you receive this notification.

Name: Ms Helen Mathew
Email:[email protected]
Tel:0034 672 509 539
Secure Email:[email protected]

We shall forward the card to you as soon as we receive the Duly Sworn Affidavit, we are doing this to secure your interest considering the credit card frauds and stolen cheque which brings problem to American citizens all around the world.

Your prompt response is most higly desired to terminate the delivering of your parcel.


Mr William R Gillian, Jnr
Chief Postal Inspection Service.

I'm in Texas. Why would anybody in Spain send me an ATM card without my knowning about it? Why would the United States Postal Service be holding up a parcel shipping United Parcel Service (a private shipping entity operating in competition with the Postal Service) when that's clearly another department's job? Why would it cost $154 to get a sworn affidavit on anything? And how many people can you really catch with a scam like this? It would have to be limited to people with a reasonable expectation of getting an ATM from Spain.

I don't understand. Even playing the high saturation odds for getting stupid people, this can't possible generate any income to speak of.
 
I don't understand. Even playing the high saturation odds for getting stupid people, this can't possible generate any income to speak of.

But millions have been sent out.
 
Just when you think you've seen it all. The bit above 'from' is actually the title of the email, and the 'to' address must be spoofed because it isn;t mine even though it's come to me.

I left the line in that hotmail tagged on because it's funny in context.

vbxtosb nhrdybtxhdp ajiobjkr gkovcflfccba nozei jlctlcqlfnm qirgqwqae aculsuq uvdzvsoiruc wpocnze pfrorauxixsp zpjicloib

From: Ana Maria Arruda <[email protected]>
To:p[email protected]

ikgsib 26y7lgg3d qwf9 vb9w1 f5r92 7zhw0724dy 6fqom0po8r85 x7fsawbc7a0 l7sjhuoiz d9n6pwsr2 mik4bhs t409zp7zg vir52ulelbzh 584unc k4tjm6fo5 2dcn9cpt1h cgbbom21g o4088 rdhf2ufi0lit f69sels9k k2cme hj83ax 69xc5gea mvmk21emnfk 66t99f bq6z8j m63q oon1ku naajvirq
nnj3mbrkupir d4b446v 48wio811 kwm03 4tn7gp7xnp z7qsmxeehc 7bqbwmd00 1y6f79g u3s80lfy4a

pmej.,.-.*-mon__e__y.-.*.--,maki__n__g.-.*.--,ide__a__s-.*.-,-,fr__o__m..-*--,*ho__m__e.-.*-,zyp


nks9oq qlcruljn s2wdfd3p9u6 u9f8oq5d q12i7jql tfpp08lvv pa9xddknr8 mvuqq y3in8 smmtgd 7jo5yx dh715694r izsfnwwu1x0 mg1c pln9w 4qlb nao5y 7v8r4ygwwff l7dsz5355ghg 7ctb nfz40r64qu1 oqw96exj jzh3pqfywv6z 45dqcpxz zdq7jefc73 vdj8ksad4s9h abny4jjxa q9pj8gw ktbayrrb
c6ohy8jp udl2 pvbw0nnp4 ym2r2q3j82a 0xb9sgp95w 26y2wn1eid 4gvtui5 4u8omypl ks13w47wrfl t5r0tg2 fv7z5w60kf qjcznnzljc fi4glojt9wnp olpdq2djv y9fa1nycixb fnjcn2ca qsahjm x0e7g5hj fyr3uzf7oauj 15nhxrec7w ehnjuv snc7z52q d3lpcxpych vpm8ksp9n9 4piolhat yli5a73 t3rlkwojj91s 8rcavhe5w
hb9f01lqh53 aglstv0vzb 70h55 u1bgac ljb66ca8jro a2bzhk7t9p 19n1 64wfb6xx d7i5xf4 mkgx yd1ww9gwl3g 3bi2yltmxq pfdq1 wvbpvzi3wd8p 9c5bh1my 35l13 t5un7u2 ddily kpwqbca s2x095 6e92pllp 7z49 o9h0 4b92 rq7kk4 yi6xdlt 3t9vhc3 li1etjgsnf0t y5ae46ipa4 iljiy2 qjqbey9a1qlk ppevi i9ke26 2377j 6npty5e2 7c5n0 dzjqhq6tadp u0zn96 eqzn 6lxp7ilx6uj5 tdje5o7b avryz7kue ye2nz66zc4k 4rmv0kxa h6hw8o124 nvm93hjnkz
its208trlys tfqek 9ugn97iwhc3o t463mca x2au4 cubmif q4l67xi4m4kj 3ro0wmc7dps kejq53yaaa 4ywbmb f2aop040g86v p614n 3x8ktmgq 3hfw0dw m29bmrqhzfx p0oig9knh xoitb6kg dkhqbf wk548ojd o4t4 jx7ifej8ticb 89pgsktgtbi 5s7ux 64d5kl2ct3ns 0vpaegkp8 05splzx7 vqubxhuq3eyt io5tz pkq7wsk9n5 1cyye7jgx t6ax 4ju33 ndxq96ave3 bdxcma1r k8kgyk ycxnf4y w0k4kpj

Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now.
 
It beats me what the purpose of those nonsense emails is - perhaps they are hoping that some people will email back, asking what they meant...?
 
There was a link in there, which for obvious reasons i didn;t click.

Advertising spam or virus i guess, but still a bizarre effort.
 
Heres a good one! :twisted:

OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
TREASURY AND MINISTER FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE,
LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM.

Our ref: BRT/13470/IDR
Your ref:...31/08/2010

BRITISH GOVERNMENT POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM.


I Rt Hon DAVID CAMERON MP,Prime Minister British Government wish to inform you
of your selection as one of the Beneficiary for the on going 2010 British
Government Poverty Alleviation and Financial Empowerment Program worldwide. All
participants/beneficiaries were selected randomly from Worldwide online networks
Directories as a beneficiary of £2,000,000.00 (Two Million, Great British Pounds
Sterling).

So, this letter is to officially inform you that two(2) option of payment has
been opened for you.

1)ATM with ATM Card Number {4800010177555014} been accredited in
your favor. Your Personal Identification Number is 4741.

2)Bank Wire transfer

Please do indicate your PAYMENT OPTION.

As this office will mail you a Visa/ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw your
funds in any ATM MACHINE CENTER or Visa card outlet in the world with a maximum
of £5000 GBP daily or our contracted paying bank here in London,United Kingdom
will make the transfer to you depending on your OPTION OF PAYMENT you have
indicated.Further more,You will be required to re-confirm your Bio-Data as
stated below to enable;The Rt Hon William Hague MP Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,begin in processing of your awarded funds.

(1)Full names: (2)Address: (3)Country: (4)Nationality: (5)Phone #:
(6)Age:(7)Occupation: (8) Zip Code (9) Sex:

Forward all your details reply to:
-------------------------------------------------------
Rt Hon William Hague MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Email: [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------


Regards,

Rt Hon David Cameron MP
Prime Minister
 
Actually, that probably is from David Cameron...
 
Well the government wants to cut the deficit, so phishing is about the only thing they haven't tried...

:rofl:
 
PeniG said:
It's not exactly a business proposition, but it's a little odd. This was in my mailbox this morning (key points highlighted, though I'm skipping the obvious grammatical errors):
USPS OFFICE AUTHORITY
P.O BOX 55, NEW YORK NY, 10116-0555
MAIL TO:[email protected]

This is to notify you that we have intercepted your parcel from DHL/UPS courier service from delivering the parcel to you for security reasons as stated below.

1. Our scanning system detected your parcel containing a confirmable ATM CARD. Before the parcel could be delivered, you are obliged to obtain A Duly Sworn Affidavit from the Spanish High Court in Spain to back up the the origin of the Parcel,this is in line with the Anti Terrorist Campaign due to the Law Implemented by government of United States of America to protect and reduce the terrorist activities.

We kindly advice you to contact the agent in Madrid, Spain to get the Sworn Affidavit for you. Please note that the cost of the Sworn Affidavit costs only $154 which must paid by the receiver of the parcel.Below is the contact details of the agent in charge. He will advice you on how the payment should be made so please contact him immediately you receive this notification.

Name: Ms Helen Mathew
Email:[email protected]
Tel:0034 672 509 539
Secure Email:[email protected]

We shall forward the card to you as soon as we receive the Duly Sworn Affidavit, we are doing this to secure your interest considering the credit card frauds and stolen cheque which brings problem to American citizens all around the world.

Your prompt response is most higly desired to terminate the delivering of your parcel.


Mr William R Gillian, Jnr
Chief Postal Inspection Service.

I'm in Texas. Why would anybody in Spain send me an ATM card without my knowning about it? Why would the United States Postal Service be holding up a parcel shipping United Parcel Service (a private shipping entity operating in competition with the Postal Service) when that's clearly another department's job? Why would it cost $154 to get a sworn affidavit on anything? And how many people can you really catch with a scam like this? It would have to be limited to people with a reasonable expectation of getting an ATM from Spain.

I don't understand. Even playing the high saturation odds for getting stupid people, this can't possible generate any income to speak of.

I've just had one of these!

Greetings!

I am Mr.Dave Potts, FedEx Diplomatic Agent Cotonou Unit; I wish to notify you that your consignments 57-BC59-01351 shipped under C Class category B has arrived JFK International Airport . I am presently in JFK International Airport trying to finalize with clearing department of the US Customs but I’m having a little problem with Custom Authorities here, they are trying to intercept the Consignment but I have US diplomats ID and because of that I instructed that the consignment Box should not be opened or scanned. Consequently, am trying to sort everything out today and connect with next available flight to your state.

Please, i request that you reconfirm the following details before I connect to your state.THE NAME YOU ARE KNOWN FOR (FULL NAME) ADDRESS ON WHERE TO DELIVERY YOUR CONSIGNMENT PACKAGE (OFFICE OR HOME ADDRESS) CONTACT TELEPHONE/CELL NUMBERS (#) YOUR ID OR PASSPORT NUMBERS (#) AND NEAREST AIRPORT TO YOU......

Please forward the requested information now to me on ( [email protected] )as I will be waiting to receive it urgent.

Am waiting to receive it now please...

Thanks,
Mr.Dave Potts
FedEx Diplomats Agent.
E-mail: [email protected]

I'm in the UK; why the hell would I have an ATM card being sent via JFK?!
 
A briskly minimalist one received by me on 31st July:

Dear Friend,
I have a secured business proposal of $37.363,000.00.Contact me if interested.EMAIL: [email protected].
Mr Soo Won Lee
Justicia, Orden, Paz, Amor y Verdad

:roll:

I see this mail has been noticed on this site and its origin traced to Nigeria. Who would have thought it!
 
Does anyone know what the hell this is? May or may not actually have seen my cv from a job website, i wondering if the application form with it was virused (it tests clean but had macros i opened with disabled) or if this is how those east european clothing scam things operate?

My name is Raymond Finley , I am a manager of Edinburgh Recruiting Agency.
We are searching for employees to work for
various organizations all over the world.
Our client, "TWH", a charity organization helping children
opens a vacancy of controller of humanitarian assistance in Leeds for
children and their families needing help in Europe. We have reviewed your CV on a recruitment website and would like to offer you
this position.

About TWH:
Charity foundation helping kids TWH was founded in 2007.
Their mission is helping children and their families in
difficult life situations
Those are the cases where:
• Parents come from orphanages;
• Parents are disabled;
• Parents are alchohol addicted ;
• Families are incomplete, economically disadvantaged or families
with many children;
• Children are being brought up by foster parents.
"The warm house" gives all kind of support to children
and their families: material assistance, social-legal assistance,
psychological help. For this purposes we carry out
family classes in our training centres and schools, organize family
vacations for families in harsh life
situations, share our experience with different social organizations .
The most important approaches of our work are –
individual approach to any single situation, complex solution
of family problems, changing difficult life situation in a family,
active search of new families needing help.
Organization's budget is being formed by donations from different
commercial organizations , individuals and governmental and
non-governmental organizations. "The Warm House" works activly on money
attraction - arranges charity sports competitions, various
events with the assistance of stars, mass-media. Arranges different
events for the collection of donations.

About the job:
firstly you will be looking for warehouse for storage of humanitarian supply in your area
that will be later sent to the European centers. After that you will
be managing the process of receiving and
sending goods and receiving the financial donations from our sponsors.
You won’t bear any expenses because our sponsors will
cover all the expenditures for storehouses rent, cell phone calls, your business trips and other needs.
During the first month the job will take just 2-3 hours per
day. The following month it will take 3-6 hours. First we will sing a
contract with you for the trial
period of 2 months with the salary of 950 GBP per month. If we
find your work satisfactory we will raise your salary up to
1450 GBP or offer you a permanent employment.
If you are interested in this position ,and you want to know
more about it and take small interview, please fill in an Application
Form and send it to us.
We will send your application form to TWH and they will
contact you within 2-3 working days.

If Raymond Finley of Edinburgh Recruiting Agency actually exists he's not showing up on google, then again, he's not showing up against scam warnings either.
 
The Charity doesn't show up on google either....some sort of identify theft thing if yoau actually fill in the application form? It's really dodgy whatever it is because that letter isn't written by anyone with British or American English as a first language.

It could be a money laundering scam, where they dupe someone into banking cash for them...
 
Ah! Truly multi-national. Address in London, in French, email add French, reply to address in Benin but their email add is Polish.

Société Guinness
97 Friar Street
BD23 5ZT Bolton Bridge
Tel: 00447017457282
Royaume Uni

Cher lauréat,

Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer que vous êtes l'un des chanceux lauréats du totocalcio organisé par la Société Guinness. Tous les participants ont été tirés au sort sur internet grâce à un système informatique. Votre adresse e-mail dont le numéro de référence est 341/522/2010 a été tirée en troisième position. Vous venez de remporter le troisième prix constitué d'une somme de cent mille euros.

Nous vous prions de bien vouloir garder cette information confidentielle afin d'éviter des revendications doubles.

Veuillez entrer en contact avec le cabinet chargé de la remise des prix:

Cabinet Dupuis
Maître Oliver Dupuis
16, boulevard Bryas
97436 Cotonou Benin
Téléphone: 0022996998501
E-mail: [email protected]

Envoyez à l'adresse e-mail: [email protected] les informations ci-dessous:

Réf.: 341/522/2010
Lot N°: 10121965

Edward K. Adams
Chargé des Opérations
Société Guinness
 
E-mail money scam targets 'gaeilgeorí'
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 92562.html
KARLIN LILLINGTON

Tue, Dec 21, 2010

OVERLY TRUSTING gaeilgeoirí beware. An as Gaeilge version of the so-called online “Nigerian scam” is doing the rounds in which an unlikely sum of money is promised to the recipient of the e-mail if only he or she sends all personal banking details to a person, usually based in Nigeria.

The e-mail is circulating with the lengthy heading, “An raibh Roghnaithe Comhghairdeas leat Seoladh R-phost a fháil £888,446.00 Ó Náisiún Aontaithe!” However, a briefer and more appropriate subject heading might be the Irish proverb “ní mar a shíltear a bhítear” (things aren’t as they seem).

A Garda spokesman said it appeared the letter was most likely a translation of a standard scam letter done using computer software. He said the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation always warns “any offer that looks too good to be true, probably is”.

Dr Michael Cronin, professor of translation studies at Dublin City University and an Irish speaker, confirmed while the letter’s Irish fluency was impressive, it was unlikely to be evidence a pocket of Irish-speaking fraudsters was operating out of the Gaeltacht.

“The funny thing about it is, it’s fairly good. There’s quite a lot of repeated mistakes in it, which means it reads like something fed into a machine translation package, but with a much higher standard than you’d normally get. It looks like somebody who speaks Irish had a look at it,” he said.

According to the e-mail, the United Nations is offering the lucky recipient £888,446 about €1 million – if they supply a bank account for the sum to rest in.

“It is funny,” said Prof Cronin. “It supposedly comes from an assistant secretary in the United Nation’s terrorism-monitoring unit, yet it says the money is being given to improve the standard of living “for people on small islands or near the continental shelf’.”

The recipient is asked to reply to a bank located in Malaysia.

Dublin-based computer security company Espion said the Irish-language version surfaced several months ago. “I sent it on to a gaeilgeoir friend when I first got it, as I thought he’d get a laugh out of it,” said managing director Colman Morrissey. Given the e-mail is in Irish, the market for such a scam would seem tiny, he added.
 
Climate scientists targeted for fraud
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12219472
Richard Black By Richard Black Environment correspondent,
BBC News

St James's Park and Buckingham Palace The scammers chose a fake hotel close to leafy St James's Park and Buckingham Palace

Related stories

* Tighter security controls for net
* How to stop becoming phish food
* Phishing scam hits carbon permits

Online fraudsters are targeting climate scientists through invitations to fake conferences, often at fictional five-star London hotels.

Scientists are sent e-mails directing them to fake conference websites - often imitating the style of real ones.

Typically they are told their travel costs will be refunded - but they have to pay first "to reserve a hotel room".

The "phishing" scammers appear to be after information such as e-mail addresses, as well as money.

One currently live website advertises a conference in Febuary, run by the "Global Warming Volunteer Group" and claiming to "focus on the risks and opportunities posed to society by global warming and... promote the exchange of ideas and learning across the Globe".

The venue is given as the Crown London Hotel - whose address is the same as the real-life Crowne Plaza, just round the corner from Buckingham Palace.

Staff at the Crowne Plaza confirmed they have had at least one call enquiring about the non-existent conference.

The design of the website closely matches that of another supposed London-based conference, this time organised by the "Climate Change Working Group", scheduled for late January at an address in North London that is actually a pet shop.

“The fake website is very cleverly done... they do speak the 'lingo' fluently”
'Kimo' Goree IISD

A call to the contact number provided for the supposed organiser, Dr Louis Clarke, yielded a brief conversation with a man claiming to be Dr Clarke, speaking with an African accent and claiming to be "an expert in climate change issues".

UK phone numbers given in the scams typically begin with 0702 or 0844, which re-direct elsewhere.

The sender of another e-mail invitation, again for late January in London, has adopted the name "Christiana Figueres" - the real-life name of the executive secretary of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) - and claims funding from the UN General Assembly.
Information value

US-based scientist Lee Schipper became aware of the global warming scams in 2009, and receives about one fake invitation each month.

The sums asked for "hotel reservation" are in the range of 200-300 euros per time, he told BBC News.

"My guess is they get a few dozen victims every time - which is not a bad return for essentially no cost," he said.

It is thought that the main targets are researchers in the developing world, whose institutions would be unlikely to have the resources to fund travel to a London conference.
One of the fake sites The scammers go to considerable lengths to make the websites look authentic

BBC News has seen e-mails from two African researchers who had been in negotiations to speak at fake London conferences, but pulled out when money was asked for.

But Dr Schipper, who works on climate and transport issues at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University, said he was aware of cases where money had been exchanged.

And the anti-spam website spaminform.com carries comments from people who have apparently paid sums up front, including one who laments: "I am a victim".

Carole Theriault, a spokeswoman on security issues with online security company Sophos, said scammers could be after information as well as cash.

"These guys sell lists of contact details to each other, but they get a little old and dirty," she said.

"So if you've replied to an e-mail invitation you're saying 'hi, this is me, this is my e-mail address as of now' - that's valuable."

Once e-mail addresses had been passed on in this way, she said, people could find themselves deluged with spam - some possibly containing malware.

Global warning

Together with Langston James "Kimo" Goree VI, of the International Institute for Sustainable Development in New York, Lee Schipper recently circulated an e-mail to people in the climate change community warning of the scams.

Mr Goree runs a reporting service called the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, which gives detailed accounts of proceedings in fora such as the UN climate summits.

"The scammers have lifted entire portions of the IISD website, doing a search and replace to find IISD and replace it with their own fake name and creating a fake website that they use to fool people into believing that they are legitimate," he said.
Continue reading the main story
Computer keyboard

* How to stop becoming phish food

"The fake website is very cleverly done... they do speak the 'lingo' fluently."

This is borne out by the "Global Warming Volunteer Group" website, which boasts a scientific programme and a "peer-review" panel to decide which talks to feature, says that proceedings will be published in a scientific journal, and claims a hook-up with the real-life Carbon Zero Project to make the conference carbon neutral.

The "conference" claims to be sponsored by companies such as energy giant BP, accountants PriceWaterhouse Coopers and the National Australia Bank - as well as the "Crown London Hotel".

There are some indications of fakery, though, including citing the UK Government's Department of Climate Change - which does not exist - as a supporter.

A spokesman for BP told the BBC: "We can find no evidence that BP is a sponsor or otherwise connected with the conference advertised on this website.

"We are attempting to contact the organisers for clarification, and our trademarks team will also be checking the website's use of our company name and logo."

Ms Theriault noted that operators had become more sophisticated than the first instance of "climate-phishing" she was aware of - a 2007 email notifying the recipient of "Random Selection as Development/Campaign Partner... We hereby notify you that you have been selected as a partner in the World Campaign against Global Warming..."
Closing time

At least one of the companies that the fraudsters claim is linked to the "Crown Hotel conference" is taking legal advice, aiming to have the site closed down.

How easy that will prove is another matter.

Lee Schipper has traced several scams over the years back through companies maintaining the fake websites and transmitting the emails; but has had mixed success in closing the operations down, despite flagging them up with UK police.

"The whole idea of tackling these 'crimes under the radar' is not promising," he said.

While some service providers acted to close operations down, others, he said, approached the issue with a "get me a court order or go to hell" attitude - and at times, navigating through a tangled, intercontinental web of ownership proved impossible.

"My fear is not just that people in my field get mud on their faces, but that the line between legitimate activity and crime on the internet is getting thinner and thinner," he said.

"The only way to tackle it will be if all the ISPs come together."
 
I just found this in my in box
Dear Job Seeker maddison lee,
A several companies grouped into a holding recently opened some positions due to expansion of its business. This is possible due to opening new branches, starting innovative projects and some Internet projects. We do not promise an easy job that will bring you a lot of fortune. Instead, you will have to work hard and much. Yet there are some preferences. But one of our jobs is that they are part-time, and at the beginning it will be close to 4 hours daily. Also we provide maximum support and additional training during the preparation time while preparing for a new job.
We have prepared a list of specialties we are looking for, and they are of very kinds. We would be pleased to receive resume with detailed description of your skills and experience, and we will try to find the job that matches you most. We suggest that you begin from the position of the assistant manager. This is the first step in your career, but it allows you to learn all intricate details typical only to our work.
The only requirements we have for/place to our candidates are the following:
- Age 18 and older
- Ambitiousness, high self motivation, responsibility and discipline.
- Communicative skills
- Advanced PC user (basic programs)
We will be happy to welcome you into our team of young specialists. This is your chance to become a professional specialist in your area of responsibility. Join us, we look forward to your resume.
______________
Top News: mid north coast hosts sydney swans camp
I mean, really, what on earth is that about? And what does the sender get out of it?
 
Actually, I think I've noticed an increase in scam emails offering me a job. I wonder if it's an adaptation to the recession?
 
rushfan62 said:
- Advanced PC user (basic programs)

Oooh that's a conundrum, am I an advanced user of basic programs or a basic user of advanced programs? :?
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
Or, are you and advanced user (BASIC programmer)?

Well I once got my ZX Spectrum to print 'Hello' several thousand times on the screen using Speccy BASIC. ;)
 
At a guess, similar to the fake job offer email i got further up the thread, probably trying to get your bank details or as Pietro says, enough personal info for identity theft.
 
One of my spare email accounts got this, which look like an attempt to harvest details:

Hello,
We are accepting applications for qualified individuals to become mystery shoppers. It's fun and rewarding.There is no charge to become a shopper and you do not need previous experience and you would be paid a starting fee of 200GBP for every duty you carry out. If you are in the United Kingdom, Scotland or Wales, This job is for you!

JOB DESCRIPTION: 1. You will receive funding for the assignment.2. You will receive the Instruction for your assignment via email on the location and details of the assignment.3. You are to complete the assignment as fast and discreetly as possible.4. You will be asked to visit a business location to conduct business be it a restaurant, shopping store etc.

PAYMENT TERMS: For your first assignment,You will receive a flat sum of 200GBP per assignment. The company will furnish you with all expense needed for theassignment and any other expense incurred during the course of executing your assignment.The fee is due to increase after your first set ofassignments.

Note: You are to follow all instructions given to you to the fullest. KINDLY SEND YOUR INFORMATION BELOW TO PROCEED ON FIRST ASSIGNMENT TO([email protected]) Your Full Name:
Your Address (NOT P.O Box):
City, State, Zip:
Occupation:
Phone Number(s):
AGE:

Regards, Andy Chadwick

[email protected]

Secret ShopperR



Just checked, Retail Eyes Inc, is actually a real company, but that's not the email address they give on their website......
 
I went looking for this thread as this arrived in my In box this afternoon...

From: Leslie Kosky <[email protected]>
Subject: Grant Notification
Date: 7 February 2011 17:11:56 GMT
To: [email protected]

Just awarded you a Grant winner of $500,000.00 from UNDP Reply Email: [email protected] faithfully,UNDP-Mrs Maris Sharon (MD)United Nations Foundation UK.Call us Now +44-702-407-6990

I can assure you that my email address is NOT [email protected].

As I read the thread I came across this email by Rushfan62 and instantly recognised it....

rushfan62 said:
I just found this in my in box
Dear Job Seeker maddison lee,
A several companies grouped into a holding recently opened some positions due to expansion of its business. This is possible due to opening new branches, starting innovative projects and some Internet projects. We do not promise an easy job that will bring you a lot of fortune. Instead, you will have to work hard and much. Yet there are some preferences. But one of our jobs is that they are part-time, and at the beginning it will be close to 4 hours daily. Also we provide maximum support and additional training during the preparation time while preparing for a new job.
We have prepared a list of specialties we are looking for, and they are of very kinds. We would be pleased to receive resume with detailed description of your skills and experience, and we will try to find the job that matches you most. We suggest that you begin from the position of the assistant manager. This is the first step in your career, but it allows you to learn all intricate details typical only to our work.
The only requirements we have for/place to our candidates are the following:
- Age 18 and older
- Ambitiousness, high self motivation, responsibility and discipline.
- Communicative skills
- Advanced PC user (basic programs)
We will be happy to welcome you into our team of young specialists. This is your chance to become a professional specialist in your area of responsibility. Join us, we look forward to your resume.
______________
Top News: mid north coast hosts sydney swans camp
I mean, really, what on earth is that about? And what does the sender get out of it?

I got the same email on the same day at a different time.

weirdemail-2.jpg


So I guess Rushfan62 and I could compare notes and work out where the email came from, it's obviously from a site we both use....

...FT.... :shock:
 
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