[Desi Masala] Email Fraud Works how.

You just received an email from
somebody - perhaps a barrister, a relative of a deposed head of state,
or a widow in distress - asking for your help. The email may seem almost
comical, containing childish spelling and grammatical errors. The person
who sent you the email claims to have an enormous amount of cash -
millions of dollars - but they can't get it out of the country in which
it is situated. If only you will assist them, they will give you a
considerable commission amounting to millions of dollars. All they need
is a good hearted person with a bank account, and...
It sounds "way too good to be
true".... But it is also awfully tempting. Isn't it? What's the possible
harm if you reply....
How Does This Email Fraud Work?
Nigerian email fraud is a type of "advance fee" fraud,
with an associated possibility of identity theft. Sometimes this type of
fraud is called "419" fraud, after the underenforced section of the
Nigerian criminal code which makes it illegal. In short, a criminal
sends out thousands of spam emails, hoping that an unsuspecting soul
will reply. Once contact is made, and it appears that the response is
from somebody who may fall for the scam, the criminal will repeatedly
make promises to send the promised cash, but problem after problem will
arise. These problems can only be resolved, the criminal will swear, if
the target sends them money to pay certain fees or bribe various
officials. (The term "advance fee" refers to the money they get from you
- and despite their promises of riches, you never get a cent in return.)

Sometimes, the fees and bribes these people describe
will seem small, particularly in comparison to the riches they offer.
But there is no upside - even if you are only "risking" $30 or $40,
you'll lose that money forever. And some people have literally been
cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Please note that these criminals often run multiple
scams, including false promises of inheritance or lottery winning.
But The Letter I Received Is From A
Different Country
Please do not make the mistake of assuming that the same
type of offer from another country, such as South Africa, Zimbabwe,
Ivory Coast, Liberia, Kenya, Senegal, Zaire, the Congo, the United Arab
Emirates, or Sierra Leone, or even European nations such as England or
Spain, is legitimate. There are people who operate the same type of
fraud from a wide range of nations. Also, some scammers who are located
in Nigeria will lie about their location.
Please remember that this type of email is
always fraudulent, no matter who sends it or where they
claim to be from.
How Did They Find Me?
Most people who have an email address for any
significant amount of time receive so-called "spam email" (more politely
known as "unsolicited commercial email.") Spammers create lists of email
addresses by collecting them from websites, buying them from other
businesses, and even by guessing possible names on popular email hosts
such as Yahoo! mail and Hotmail. It is possible to buy large email lists
for relatively small amounts of money. Most people who are running these
scams get spam mailing lists in this manner, or buy them from spammers.

I Got The Same Type Of Letter, But
By Fax - Is That Different?
Prior to the rise of email, it was common for this type
of scammer to approach people by fax or even by regular mail. I am sure
they are working on a way to reach people by instant messenger. However
they reach you, they are trying to cheat you.
What Harm Is There In Contacting
Them, "Just In Case"?
First, there is no point in contacting them "just in
case" - of the thousands upon thousands of people who have been cheated
in this manner, not one has received the promised
money. You won't, either.
Second, you may inadvertently provide the scammer with
information that they can use to fake your identity and commit credit
card fraud or bank fraud. Even providing them with your name and bank
account number can provide them with the basis to try to forge a bank
draft or obtain a fraudulent money transfer from your account. If you
give them any information, they will try to use it to cheat you.
Third, some of these scammers will actively try to lure
you to Africa with the intention of holding you for ransom.
You may have seen sites where people turned the tables
on the scammers, making them do foolish things or stringing them along.
But it's safer just to delete their emails and forget them.
A Sample Letter
The following is a sample spam letter from this
particular scam:
 





From: markson2@jumpy. it
[mailto:markson2@ jumpy.it]
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004
7:20 AM
To: markson2@jumpy. it
Subject: YOUR ASSISTANCE
IS NEEDED
ASYLUM CAMP ABIDJAN
From: Markson
Juliet/Kamara
ADDRESS. MOTHER THREASA CAMP ABIDJAN COTE
D'IVOIRE
EMAIL ADDRESS. (kamara35@latinmail. com)
 
Dear Sir,
I am markson Kamara the only son of late former
Director of finance, Chief Vincent R. Kamara of Sierra-Leone
diamond and mining corporation. I must confess my agitation is
real, and my words are my bond in this proposal. My late father
diverted this fund acquired from the over influencing of price of
sales/purchasing of raw materials., now he deposited the money
with a BANK IN ABIDJAN BY FIXED DEPOSIT FORM, where I am residing
under political asylum with my younger sister Juliet who is 17
years old. Now the war in my country is overwith the help of
ECOMOG soldiers, the present government of Sierra Leone has
revoked the passport of all officers who served under the former
regime and now ask countries to expel such person at the same
time, freeze their account and confiscate their assets, it is on
this note that I am contacting you, all I needed from you is to
furnish me with your bank particulars:
1) Bank name
2) Account name
3) Account
number
4) Bank address, telephone and fax numbers to enable me
transfer this money in your private bank account, the said amount
is tweenty Six Million United States Dollars
(US$26.000.000. 00).
I am compensating you with 20% of the total money
amount, now all my hope is banked on you and I really want to
invest this money in your country, where there is stability of
Government, political and economic welfare. Honestly I want you to
believe that this transaction is real and never a joke. My late
father Chief Kamara gave me the photocopy of the deposit
certificate issued to him by the BANK IN ABIDJAN on the date of
deposit, and he called me closer to his bed side before his call
to glory (R.I.P) that I should pray to God first, before
contacting any foreigner and he warned me strictly not to deal
with a greedy and evil minded people since this is the only legacy
we are inheriting from him.
Please, for you to be clarified because, I do not
expose myself to anybody I see, I believe that you are able to
keep this transaction secret for me because this money is the hope
of my life, it is important. Please contact me immediately after
you must have gone through my message, and feel free to make it
urgent. That is the reason why I offered you 20 % of the total
amount, and in case of any other necessary expenses you might
incure during this transaction including your telephone calls..
N.B: Try and negotiate for me some profitable blue
chip investment opportunities which is risk free that I can invest
with this money when it is transferred to your account, and you
will be our guardian, personally I am interested in estate
management and hotel business, please advise me. Contact me
immediately you receive this message for more explanation. And
promise me and Juliet my younger sister to be a father considering
our situation and not to betray us please.
Thanks and God bless
Best regards
Markson / Juliet
Kamara
(markson2@latinmail .com)
NB: my late father used me the only son as the
beneficiary / next of kin on theday of deposit and also told me
that I need an assistance of a foreigner with alegitimate bank
Account abroad who will stand as co-beneficiary and partner
abroad.

Who Are The People Named In The
Emails?
In order to make these spam emails seem more real, the
scammers will use the names of real people, including lawyers, priests,
former heads of state and politicians, as well as a wide assortment of
fake names. The following list of names may seem huge, but it reflects
only a small percentage of the fake names used in this
scam

What Can I Do About Spam Email?
The best approach to avoiding spam is ordinarily to be
very careful about the distribution of your email address. Once you
start to receive spam at a particular email address, you will usually
end up receiving increasing amounts of spam at that address no matter
what you do. There is filtering technology which some find helpful,
which helps to screen out spam email from legitimate email. 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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