Check out the story. Check the seller’s reputation
Scam emails had repetitive stories and overtly invited recipients to be part of the scam and take a share of the spoils. They common stories were business proposals, invitations to take a share of unclaimed money, assistance to claim inheritance and award payouts. A summary of the stories in scam emails sent to me last month is listed below:
business proposal |
business proposal |
cash award |
casino free bonus |
dating/collection personal info |
Father killed by business partner |
helping to get my inheritance |
helping to get my inheritance |
helping to get my inheritance |
job scam |
lottery win |
payment in thanks for past help |
Relationship |
Relationship |
share in inheritance |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
share in spoils |
Stealing from greedy politicians |
Stealing from greedy politicians |
suspension of unused accounts by Yahoo |
United Nations Payment to you |
The best way is prevention. Before entering into an online transaction, undertake due diligence to ascertain the legitimacy of the party you are dealing with. Remember there is no refund as the scamsters is an illegitimate business far away in another country, and you do not want the hassle of even trying to recover the few hundred dollars you were conned for.
Review your financial and credit card statements for unknown expenses
Incorrect entries or suspicious transactions serve as a warning bell. You may have downloaded malware which stole your banking or credit card credentials which the scammer is currently using. The source may have been correspondance you undertook with a scammer in reply to a scam email. Reset your password and run an antivirus scan to detect malware. Be aware of what legitimate sites ask for by acquainting yourself with the sites procedure before entering into a transaction
Shoddy titles
Most scam mails have shoddy subject lines which are crude and unsophisticated. These are easy to detect and typically have an urgent or confiding tone.I have listed down a few. There are some without subject lines too.
PAYMENT INFORMATION FROM WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE |
looking forward for your urgent response. |
NOTICE AND CONTACT NOW |
My Dearest |
Can I confide in you? |
Message From Bill Gate |
Yahoo Lottery Award |
Good Day!!! |
From Miss Aisha. |
transferringa the sum of ($39.5)million to your account |
FROM THE DESK OF MR.PHILIPE TARA. |
FROM THE DESK OF MR.PHILIPE TARA. |
Hello |
JOB OPPORTUNITY IN BRUNEL HOTEL LONDON |
CALL ME AFTER GOING THROUGH MY PROPOSAL @+226 75444302 |
Reply me urgent plz |
When Casino royalty heads to play, WinnerPalace is where they go |
Australia Online National Lottery |
Scam mail senders used common titles
Most of the titles were related to the scam story. Most common were audit manager, foreign exchange managers and bills and exchange managers in a bank for scams involving unrecovered sums. There was inheritance claims where the titles used were son/daughter of a chief or minister. One or two used barrister or lawyer.
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