Scams & Sleezes - BEWARE!!

[will_emerson]

Let others know before they fall victim!

[will_emerson]

Beware of phone calls and e-mails purporting to be from the IRS regarding your tax refund. THESE ARE FRAUDULENT! These are criminals attempting to gain personal information for identity theft purposes. The IRS will not "cold call" you or contact you via e-mail. They will only initiate contact VIA THE U.S. MAIL. See: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=178061,00.html

[will_emerson]

Here's the text of a classic e-mail scam that showed up in my inbox.. DON'T FALL FOR IT! See the Internet Crime Complaint Center's FAQ's at: http://www.ic3.gov/faq/

CLAIMED DEPARTMENT.
INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY COMMITTEE (UK).




Dear Beneficiary,



Now we are happy to inform you that we have succeeded in resolving all related problems that has held the transfer impossible. the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have rendered a tremendous help to this Programmes.




We are sorry for the mismanagement of beneficiaries fund by our appointed zonal representatives; we are not able to meet up with winner's fund due to list of names due for payment.
In appreciation of your patience and understanding to receive your fund we have decided to reward you with the sum of ($950,000.00) Bank Draft. Your identification code IS UK / ILC-1759 for compensation.
You are to Contact our Zonal representative/Payment Officer in Lome Togo where your name is listed for payment.




Name: Name:DR.Jane Francis
<address removed>


***********************************************************************************
please do send him your:-
1. Given Name (As Stated in your ID)
2. Contact Address
3. Telephone/Fax number:
4.Nationality:
5.Age & Sex:
**********************************************************************************
NOTE: All all claim must not exceed 14 days, thereafter unclaimed funds would be included in the next compensation stake, Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence. Do not hesitate to let us know immediately you receive your fund so that we can take account of how many beneficiaries were paid.




Regards,
John.Mark
National coordinator

[will_emerson]

Here's another little "goodie" making the rounds... Note the "cashing the Money Orders and send the gallery the physical cash back here ".. The deal is: You deposit the "money order" and wire these people the money. Easy, right? Until your bank finds that the "money order" isn't worth the paper it's printed on, and GUESS WHO'S ACCOUNT THE MONEY'S GOING TO COME OUT OF!. I have removed the e-mail & web site address so no one might accidentally fall prey.

MR.WILSON ALAN
LONDON ART GALLERY
24 Deepdene Road
London, UK
SE58EG
+447024043313
<E-mail address removed>
Artist ID Number: 2879
Dear Sir/Ma
Good day to you, I greet you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, My name is Mr. Wilson Alan, I am an artist by profession With the London ART
Gallery, I’m a British Citizen based in London United Kingdom. I got your email address on the British Chamber of Commerce and I decided to contact you based on the open position of an international representative in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA USA.
You will earn $4,500.00 every month, without affecting your present job or business in anyway. The Last London Art exhibition that took place at the Canada square London UK, I was opportune to sell a lot of my art works, but
most of the people who bought my works are based in United States Of America and they are American Citizens.
Due to their location all the customers chose the option of paying for the paintings Via Certified Money orders, which is very Difficult for me to cash here in London United Kingdom, because the British Government does not
permit the usage of foreign money orders here in United Kingdom. So therefore me and the gallery has decided to search for a reliable and honest person in AMERICA to help us in cashing the Money Orders and send the gallery the physical cash back here in London UK. If you are
interested in this position, please forward the following information’s to me immediately:
 
MY PERSONAL MAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS JOB:
18 years or older legally capable responsible ready to work 3-4 hours per week. With PC knowledge e-mail and internet experience (minimal)
Full Name:..............................................
Contact Home Address:...................................
State/City:.............................................
Zip Code:...............................................
(NB:No Postal Address Please)
Country:................................................
Occupation:.............................................
Address of employee or Present job..........................................................................
Post Held:..............................................
Contact Phone Number:...................................
If you are interested in this urgent job offer; please respond with the
following details in order for me to reach you at once.
 
PLEASE REPLY ME DIRECTLY VIA MY PRIVATE EMAIL OR PHONE:
<E-mail address removed>
Phone: +447024043313
ONLY SERIOUS AND INTERESTED APPLICANTS / WORKERS SHOULD REPLY TO THIS ADVERT PLEASE.
Sincerely Yours
MR WILSON ALAN
+447024043313
<E-mail address removed>
<Web site address removed>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sent from Yahoo! Mail.
A Smarter Inbox.

[will_emerson]

This example was received in early January. Here the crooks are trying to take advantage of appealing to either people's desire to help others or scoring a quick fortune. Don't be fooled. The only "helping" here would be themselves to your funds!!

Dearest Beloved,

Please read this slowly and carefully, as it may be one of the most important emails you ever get. I am Mrs. Christine Jones. I was married to Late Mike Jones from Greece .The Director of Veekrol Link Nig. Ltd, a seasoned contractor in West African Region. He died on Monday, 31 July
2003 in Paris. We were married for seven years without a child.

After his death I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home. When my late husband was alive, he deposited the sum of
$5.2 Million USD in a bank, which is now wasting there. My Doctor told me that I would not last long due to cancer problem. Having known my condition I decided to donate this funds to better the lives of the less privileged. I need honest and trust worthy individual that will utilize this money in accordance with my instruction. I want the funds to be used in funding religious organizations, orphanages and less privileged propagating the word of God.

I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are very unkind to me and I don't want my husbands hard earned money to be misused. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that the lord will fight my course and I shall hold my peace. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank, and my Attorney also.

For legitimacy, he will also issue you a letter of authority that will empower you as the original- beneficiary of this fund. I want you to always pray for me, any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for another individual for this same purpose. If you are not interested, kindly pardon me for contacting you.

Thanks,

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Christine Jones.

[will_emerson]

Another example received yesterday, "How it works" is: 1). You respond to "Mr. Frank".

Now, a couple of things can happen...

2A). "Mr. Frank" tells you that he needs a sum of money, say US$5,000 to "get the funds released" (bribes, legal fees, whatever..) 3A). You think "Gee, I'll get that back and then some", so you send the money.  4A). "Mr. Frank" cashes your check and promptly drops off the face of the map.

    or....

2B). "Mr. Frank" tells you he will electronically transfer, or "wire" the funds, but needs your bank account information to do so.  3B). "What could it hurt?" you think, and you e-mail "Mr. Frank" the info, just waiting for the deposit.  4B). You open your bank statement expecting that huge deposit only to find that every cent is gone and so is "Mr. Frank".

Dear Will,
Complements of the season.
I got your contact details through the Internet, coupled with my deep interest to invest in your country hence I decided to contact and solicit for your mutual assistance.

I am Mr. Frank Mba and I work as a Banker in one of the leading Commercial Banks here in West Africa. One Mr.H. Morgan maintained an account with our bank.
Unfortunately, he was involved in a motor accident with his wife while on a business trip on the 24th of August 2002 in which both died. The said couple had no children and any known relative and was about 63years old before their death. He never identified with anybody as his relative and investigation made could not trace any known relative of the late couple.

Before his death, he made a numbered time Fixed Deposit, valued of $2,755,889.00 usd made from contracts he executed with Oil companies here in Nigeria and the proceeds deposited with our Commercial Bank.
Upon maturity, we sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. Few weeks ago, the Bank tried requesting that the next of KIN to the deceased should come up to claim his fund deposited with our Bank.

After much effort made to locate any of their relation failed. 
Further investigation showed that he and his wife died in a motor accident and we went to NPC and was given a copy of the death certificate as a proof of their death. After much effort has been exhausted and non of their relation could be found, I decided to contact you to have you stand in as the next of KIN to claim the fund so that the bank will not declare  the account dormant, freeze or confiscate the amount as they stated in the letter sent to my Department.Nobody will ever come forward to claim it, in accordance with the Central Bank's banking policy and in conjunction with the Federal Government law that at the expiration of 4 (four) years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Nigerian Government if nobody applies to claim  the fund. Based on the above discovery, I decided to contact you to stand in as the next of kin.
Consequently, I shall present you as the next of kin to Mr.M.HANSON so that you and I can benefit from the fruits of this old man's labor to enhance Humanitarian organization World wide.

The sharing terms will be discussed as soon as we reach a compromise to proceed.

There is no risk involved as I will use my position as the Manager to guarantee the successful execution of this transaction and it will take  only 7- working days. Please you must observe utmost confidentiality.
If you are willing to proceed, I would want you to forward to me your full names, address and telephone number in order for me to file in an  official report with the bank and also give you the ?text of the application? on how to apply for the claim.

I await your response.
Frank



      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and
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[will_emerson]

Thinking of buying a home at auction? Your mileage may vary, but consider the following from the Boston Globe. (article online at http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/22/many_high_bidders_still_waiting_for_homes/?page=1)

By Binyamin Appelbaum
Globe Staff / March 22, 2008
About a quarter of the winning bidders at a November auction of 300 Massachusetts home foreclosures have not yet been able to claim their properties, even as the auction company prepares for a new sale next Saturday.

Frustrated bidders say they have spent thousands of dollars on deposits, fees, and financing only to find themselves mired in delays and legal complications that raise questions about the integrity of the auction.

The rules were simple: The high bidder on each property paid a $5,000 deposit, signed a purchase agreement, and arranged a mortgage. The company, Real Estate Disposition Corp., told bidders they would close within 21 days of the auction. But some sales have been delayed for months because the auction company accepted properties from mortgage companies before those companies completed the process of foreclosing on the prior owners. In other cases, bidders say they have received no explanation for the long wait.

In one instance, three friends made the winning bid of $130,000 on a house in Lee. The mortgage company delayed the closing, then sent a letter in February offering to return the deposit. Before the friends responded, the company put the house back on the market for $179,000, then quickly agreed to sell it to someone else.

"It's just a disgrace the way the whole thing was handled," said Kevin McLean, a Dedham lawyer who represents the three friends.

Real Estate Disposition, based in Irvine, Calif., acknowledged that mistakes delayed some sales, but said it was working to correct the problems. Spokesman Michael Schack said that about 40 properties remained in limbo, while the rest either had closed already or were "on the cusp" of closing.

"We have taken a number of steps to make sure that what happened in Boston doesn't happen again," Schack said. He said the company would no longer auction properties before the foreclosure process was complete and that Real Estate Disposition had overhauled the way it supervises the closing process, including hiring a new executive to manage closings.

The firm holds auctions to sell foreclosed homes that mortgage companies can't sell on the open market, often because the properties are in poor condition. It has thrived as foreclosures have multiplied.

In November, Real Estate Disposition auctioned about 300 properties over two days at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. It plans to auction roughly 170 more properties at the Hynes next Saturday.

John Mahoney and two friends were the high bidders on three properties, including the Lee house, at the November auction. The three men, all classical musicians, have bought about 100 buildings over the years, including several foreclosed properties. They rent some of the buildings and resell others.

Mahoney said he spent days visiting most of the properties auctioned in November. The men decided how much they were willing to spend and came away with three properties they considered good values: The house in Lee, a three-family in New Bedford, and a condominium in West Dennis.
They paid a $5,000 deposit on each and borrowed another $500,000 to pay the balance. They hired lawyers to conduct title searches and paid to winterize one of the buildings.

Then they waited to hear from the mortgage companies about closing dates. In late January, Mahoney received letters from a lawyer postponing two of the closing dates until the end of February. Then came the letters offering to return the deposits. "We were out thousands of dollars," Mahoney says. "We've been paying interest on our financing, and now they just wanted to pull the rug out."

The Lee and New Bedford homes both are owned by EMC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Bear Stearns Cos., the investment bank that nearly collapsed last week before agreeing to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Unprecedented numbers of foreclosures are straining the capacity of many mortgage companies, including EMC, and causing their finances to crumble. For companies in that situation, Real Estate Disposition offers a welcome service - taking control of the entire sales process.

The November auction was the company's first in Massachusetts. Some of the winning bidders did not qualify for mortgage loans or decided to back out. In other cases, the winning bid was less than a minimum price set by the seller. Of the original 300 properties, about 170 deals moved forward.

In addition to those properties that the lenders had not yet foreclosed on, in other instances Real Estate Disposition failed to retain the lawyers necessary to conduct closings.

It's not clear why EMC put the Lee property back on the market. It did not return calls for comment. But Mahoney, who earns his income as a real estate investor, saw that the property was listed as being under agreement to someone else. He threatened legal action, urging the lawyer representing the seller, EMC, to honor the original deal. On Thursday Mahoney got a new sales contract at the original price, $130,000.

He hopes that EMC also will honor the New Bedford deal.

He has yet to hear anything from the mortgage company that owns the condo on the Cape.

Binyamin Appelbaum can be reached at bappelbaum@globe.com

[will_emerson]

I came across this little beauty via the DCU website's Streetwise warning postings archive. See https://www.dcu.org/streetwise/index.html for timely information.

New ID Theft scam involves bogus missed jury duty
Remar Sutton, DCU StreetWise Spokesperson


A new Identity Theft scam has surfaced in several sections of the country involving jury duty. The scammer calls and poses as a clerk from the local court or police. The caller indicates that you've missed jury duty and may be arrested unless you provide specific personal information, such as address, Social Security number, birth date. Some callers even ask for credit card data. The scammers hope that the fear of arrest will frighten the call recipients, prompting them to give up the information without stopping to reflect. And it does. We found dozens of consumer alerts posted by judicial districts in many areas of the country, including the Federal Courts. Here's how to protect yourself from this scam.

How to tell its a scam
Most courts follow up a missed jury duty notice with a letter (not even an email) not a phone call. Nor do most courts need your social security number and even then they won't ask for it over the phone. The callers usually sound very sincere and believable, but that's the scam artist's best “skill.”

What to do if you receive such a call
Bottom line: NEVER give out your personal information over the phone if you receive an unsolicited call. It doesn't matter who the callers say they are or how serious they claim the matter is. If you think you should follow up, then hang up, look up the number of the "clerk of court office" yourself in the phone book or with directory assistance, and initiate the phone call yourself. You might also report the scam call to the appropriate court office and file a complaint with the FTC Identity Theft site.


Breaking news analysis prepared for DCU by Remar Sutton & Associates, September 2005.

[will_emerson]

Ummmm.. Why would The Irish Lottery have a YAHOO!! e-mail address???

Irish Lottery
An Post National Lottery Company
Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1
(Customer Services)

Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
WINNING NOTIFICATION:

We happily announce to you the draw (#2099) of the IRISH LOTTERY online Sweepstakes International program held on September 2008. It is now available for claims and you are getting the final NOTIFICATION as regards this.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:68775600894 166 with Serial number 5393/04 drew the lucky numbers:15, 11, 29, 32, 33, 32, (bonus no.16) which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e match 5 plus bonus.

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,350,000(One million, three hundred and fifty thousand, pounds sterling) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03. This is from a total cash prize of
£4,419,864 shared amongst the(5)lucky winners in this category i.e Match 6 plus bonus.All participants for the online version were selected randomly from World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, emails addresses,associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This promotion takes place weekly. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our United Kingdom booklet representative office in United Kingodm as indicated in your play coupon.

In view of this, your £1,350,000(One million, three hundred and fifty thousand, pounds sterling) will be released to you by any of our payment offices in United Kingdom. Our United Kingdom agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him.For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.

This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned!!!

To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent below:

Mr.Terry Green
+4470-3199-7952
Official Email: irishclaims officelottery @yahoo .ie Fiduciary Agent/Payment Officer.

Endeavour to email/fax him your full names, winning numbers,email/ billing address, telephone and fax numbers immediately.

Endeavour to email him the informations below:
VERIFICATION AND CLEARANCE FORM
1.FULL NAMES:--------------------------------------------
2.ADDRESS:-----------------------------------------------
3.SEX:----------------------------------------------------
4.AGE:----------------------------------------------------
5.MARITAL STATUS:----------------------------------------
6.OCCUPATION:---------------------------------------------
7.E-MAIL ADDRESS: -----------------------------------------
8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:---------------------------------------
9.BATCH NUMBER:-------------------------------------------
10. REF NUMBER:---------------------------------------------
11.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL:----------------
12.AMOUNT WON:--------------------------------------------
13. COUNTRY:-----------------------------------------------.
Congratulations from me and members of staff of THE IRISH LOTTERY.

Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Lisa Morgan

Online coordinator for THE IRISH LOTTERY Sweepstakes International Program

[will_emerson]

See the story "SCAM ALERT: Stimulus Check Scam" at ABC2News.com http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story/SCAM-ALERT-Stimulus-Check-Scam/VbeGqDwrOkWB__4vNlTwug.cspx?rss=702. I didn't copy it here due to copyright concerns.. The bottom line being: Beware of ads and e-mails claiming you can get a "stimulus grant".

[will_emerson]

Jeez! I just sit here and get rich! Yeah.. Right!...

FROM THE MANAGER,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS.
THE EMAIL LOTTO, UK.
DEAR PRIZE WINNER,
 
                   WINNER OF THE NEW YEAR EMAIL LOTTO SLOTS OF 2009
 
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the Email Lotto of the new Year Slots Draws for the EMAIL LOTTO FREE INTERNET LOTTERY UNITED KINGDOM. We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the HIGH STAKES DRAWS, which is part of our annual new Year bonus promotional draws. The draws were held on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 and results are being officially announced today. Email Lotto is a Microsoft Company's sponsored lottery program for Internet users all over the world especially in the third world countries. Participants were selected through a random computerized E-mail ballot system of internet users all around the globe drawn from 30,000 names/email addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part of our International Promotions Program. You/Your company, attached to ticket number 55-9-478, with serial number 52-67 drew the winning numbers 5 - 11 - 14 - 25 - 39 - 43.You have consequently won in the Email Lotto Slots Draws of the year. You have therefore been awarded a lump sum pay out of £1,000,000(One million GB Pounds), which is the winning payout for each of theThree (3) winners whom drew the correct six numbers in this category.
 
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
 
Your fund is now deposited with our Accounts and Funds Transfer agents, which is our payment center and has been issued in your name. In your best interest and also to avoid mix up of numbers and names of any kind, also to avoid impersonators we request that you keep the entire details of your award strictly from public notice until the process of transferring your claims has been completed, and your funds remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants/no participants of this program. To file for your claim, please contact the Coordinator via telephone and E-mail written below:
 
THE COORDINATOR
MR JEFFREY WALKINS
TELE: +44-7031988577
Email:claim_center@msn.com
Provide him with all your information as listed below via E-mail:
1.Name:
2.Address:
3.Marital Status:
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Sex:
7.Nationality:
8.Country Of Residence:
9.Telephone Number:
10.Mobile Number:
11.Fax Number:
12.Email Address:
 
That way your Winnings Certificate and all other relevant documents/paperwork can be prepared for you. You would be required to show an instrument of dentification when cashing your cash prize i.e. Drivers license or International passport.
Failure to do so may warrant immediate disqualification.
NOTE: For easy reference and identification, find below your reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in every one of your correspondences with your claims agent.
 
REFERENCE NUMBER:  REF: ELSUK/7899/8604/04HFS BATCH NUMBER: G5/B212-8
 
Congratulations once again from all our staff and Good luck to you for being part of our promotions program.
Sincerely,
 
MR Donald Brown
THE MANAGER,
Email-Lotto
PO Box 1010
Liverpool L701NL
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification. Please be informed that you did not receive this mail by accident. In case you did not register as participant in our last draws, be informed that the draw was done through a random computer ballot of Internet users all around the globe. Anybody under the age of 18 years is AUTOMATICALY DISQUALIFIED from this and subsequent lotteries.
Contact our coordinator via telephone and email immediately

[/size]

[will_emerson]

Guess it isn't Avon calling..

 Dear Willis,

This is one email we wish we didn't have to write.

We have been informed of several instances of fraudulent activity in the Boston area in which the Environmental Defense Fund name has been used to solicit in-person donations door-to-door.

Please be aware that EDF does not employ door-to-door fundraisers.

If someone knocks on your door and claims they are raising money for Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Defense Action Fund, EDF or any other organization purporting to be connected to EDF, it is a scam.

DO NOT give this person money, and please report the incident immediately to local authorities.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 1-800-684-3322 or email us at takeaction@edf.org.

Thank you for your continued support,
Environmental Defense Fund 

 
   Environmental Defense Fund
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20009
1-800-684-3322
   
If you do not wish to receive these messages, change your subscription options.

 
 

[will_emerson]

Verizon users beware of this "phishing trip":

Dear Verizon Internet Customer,




This email is being sent to both the new sub account address and the master account.





Due to high volume of unused account on our server and the upgrade of Verizon High Internet Service, we hereby request every account users to submit the below information for our server upgrade purposes.




Name:

Email:

Password:

Date OF Birth:




failure to submit the above information will lead to closure of account as we are updating our server to serve you best.



Thank you for being a valued customer. We appreciate your continued business.

Verizon Member Services.

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©2009 Verizon Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. Verizon, the Verizon logo and all other Verizon marks contained herein are trademarks of Verizon Intellectual Property and/or Verizon affiliated companies.

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