Very Tempting (if you're a nitwit) Part I

I received this e-mail the other day. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone stupid enough to respond. Wonderful for the sender, anyway. If you feel inclined to answer, be my guest, especially if you work for the U.S. government. The e-mail came from this address: kutimauriceoffice@myway.com

ABSA PRIVATE BANK

Absa Bank Limited/Beperk, Reg No 1986/004794/06 Trading/Handeldrywend as ABSA Private Bank
62 Empire Road Parktown 2193
P.0.Box 6005 Johannesburg 2000

I am Dr. D K Maurice, a Deputy Chief Executive of Amalgamated Bank of South Africa (ABSA PRIVATE BANK) ,this BANK is also a correspondant of London international branch, HSBC Bank,Plc.Level 26, 8 Canada Square LONDON. I am writing following an opportunity in my office that will be of immense benefit to both of us.

In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of 9.2 Million British Pounds Sterling (Nine Million Two Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers Late Mr. MORRIS THOMPSON an American who unfortunately lost his life in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 31 2000,
including his wife and only daughter. You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site indicated below for more clarifications. http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin or relatives to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines / regulations.

Unfortunately I learnt that his supposed next of kin being his only daughter died along with him in the plane crash leaving nobody with the knowledge of this fund behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery that I and two other officials in this department now decided to make business with you and release the money to you as the next of kin or beneficiary of the funds for safe keeping and investment. Since nobody is coming for these funds and we don't want this money to go back into Government treasury as unclaimed bill. The banking law and guidelines in South Africa stipulates that such money after six years and six months ( Seventy-Eight Banking Months ) will be transferred into banking treasury as unclaimed funds.
We agreed that 25% of this money will be for you if you assist us in claiming this fund, while the balance will be for my colleagues and I. Note that this transaction is confidential and risk free. As soon as you receive this mail you should contact me through my e-mail address ( kutimaurice@myway.com ) for further details.

Please note that all necessary arrangement for the smooth release of these funds to you as has been finalised and this fund is not linked to scam and its alikes.

Upon the receipt of your response to assist I will be able to put you in a clearer picture of what next to do.Do bear in mind if this transaction does not interest, please discard this e-mail and do not use it against me as what I am doing will risk me of my job I have laboured for years if exposed.

I crave your indulgence to make this a top most secret .

Best Regards,
Dr D K Maurice

You'd Better Pay, Pal!

Here we go again. I got another one of those pesky e-mails. You know, the spam kind. Once again, it was from my nefarious friends living somewhere on the outskirts of Paypalville.

You can click on the images to enlarge them for easier reading.

I sure am glad they are constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening my account. The problem is, I don't have one. Uh oh, my non-existent account was accessed by a third party. Hmm... I'd better look into this. I clicked on the link to complete the "Steps to Remove Limitations."

I'd better type in my fictitious e-mail address and password to access my fictitious PayPal account, if I know what's good for me. Let's see, where will it take me now?

Ooow. I'd better give them my fictitious credit card info while I'm at it... Oh yes, my fake address, too! Hey! While I'm being stupid and generous, how about if I throw in my Social Security Number, too? Now let's see...

BINGO! It's my lucky day. I have "!Successfully Confirmed [my] account Information." I like their use of upper and lower case. Sharp. Better yet, how about their impeccable use of the English language, "Now you will be Logon to your account again." Okay, let's click...

Darn. It took me to the real PayPal site where it asked for my real account address and password, which I don't have. I couldn't access my fictitious account.

What you see here is trickery, pure and simple. The e-mail directs you to a phishing site where they ask for your e-mail address and password. Then they pry very personal information from you, or at least try to, before sending you on to the genuine site. In the meantime, they're now busy spending your money. It's electronic rape, for anyone who falls for it. I just wanted to see how far it would go. Now I know.

This has been a public service message from Marinade Dave. Have a nice day.

I guess we're all stupid out there

I have several Yahoo! e-mail accounts. I work with both Mac and Windows platforms. The only mail I ever open on the PC is from trusted friends and business associates. Most Spam mail, I discard, but when something arrives in my bulk folder from ebay, well, I... I... I sit up and pay attention, especially when the subject is Account confirmation required. Especially when I don't have an ebay account.

Because I feel very comfortable on my Mac when opening suspect mail, I sometimes take a look at them. I'm not too worried about viruses and the like, as I am on my laptop with Windows.

I decided to be adventurous. I clicked on the by clicking here link and it opened a new window.

It sure looks real to me, but the catch is, that if you enter your account name and password, the phish market has your information, which will allow them to go into your account and access all kinds of stuff on you. They even try to get you by opening a new "ebay" account with them. That's where they probably hit you up for bank and credit card info.

It reminds me of the late Michael Conrad's famous words of caution at the end of each morning roll call on Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there."