Crime Online

Some time or another, it had to happen. I not only receive a whole pile of emails from African crooks each day, now it looks as one of them is using my name in one of the scam emails. Or maybe one of them is just pulling a prank?

The point is, this comment poster “Ahmad” sent in a copy of an email which quotes my name as a barrister (which I am not) to spin his tail.

I reckon he/she/they will have bad luck because I am just too well known on the web. And if anybody searches for my name they will find Crime Online in association with it. They will land here.

The person who posted this is most definitely somewhere in Africa, or  maybe  Mauritius, and not in Saudia Arabia, which he is trying to suggest. So I will have to consider him/her/them as 419 style crook/s, won’t I?

New comment on your post #20 “At last! My very own inheritance e-mail …”
Author : ahmad eissa
E-mail : ah_eassa@yahoo.com
URL    : http://www.aheissa.sa

Comment:
Attn:Wricks,

I apologize for intruding into your privacy, especially by contacting you through this means for a business transaction of this magnitude, but due to its seriousness and urgency it, therefore, became necessary for me to seek for your assistance.I am Barrister Michael Holdcroft, a counsel to late David Wricks, a national of your country Who used to work with shell development company in lome togo, He lost his life in a ghastly motor accident on the 21st of April 2004 together with his wife and their only daughter were involved in a car accident along nouvissi express Road. Before his sudden and mysterious death, he deposited a sum worth (5.5MILLION US dollars) with a bank here in Lome-Togo . I knew this because all the legal proceedings was duly carried out by my humble self. After his death three years ago, I made several approaches to your embassy to help me locate any of his relatives so as to come and stand as the next of kin to my late client in order to have this huge sum transferred in his or her bank account.

But all my effort proved abortive.After several unsuccessful attempts in locating any of his relations and the latest ultimatum given to me by the Bank, mandating me to provide my client’s next of kin within the 4 weeks or I have the money confisticated, which I wouldn’t live to see it happen, hence my decision to contact you so that I can present you as the next of kin to my late client. All I demand from you is your honest co-operation so that this fund {5.5MILLION US dollars} can be transferred into any account of your choice within the shortest time possible.For your assistance and co-operation, I have decided to have the money shared as follows; 40% for you, 60% for me.

What I introduced to you might be a smack of an unethical practice but this is a once in a life time opportunity that is capable of making things better for us and moreover, if I fail to present my late client’s next of kin in couple of weeks, the truth is that this money would not be taken by the government or by some greedy officials of the bank and I would not fold my arms and watch this happen hence my decision to contact you. I also want to use this medium to assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free and my position as the counsel to the late depositor of the fund, it has been legally planned to avoid any hitch or breach of law. Every information that will back you up as the next of kin to my late client shall be given to you as soon as I have your consent.
I look forward to receiving your positive response soonest.Reply via my private email: michael_h@rocketmail.com
Regards,
Barrister Michael Holdcroft.

Technorati-Tags: michael holdcroft, crime online

What you should know is, banks cannot confiscate any funds residing in bank accounts held with them. So “Philip” is lying to you from the start.

Other points which show that what he is telling you is a farce are,

1. the gmail and AOL email addresses,
2. Amsterdam is a main area where “Nigerian” crooks operate from in Europe and
3. what he is suggesting is illegal and is called embezzlement.

He is actually being very stingy, offering only 20% …..

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: MR PHILIP PRICE <infoprice@gmail.com>
reply-to: infophilip_price@aol.nl
Date: 2009/5/19
Subject: Hello,
To:

Hello,

I seek your assistance on a business transaction that will be of mutual benefits.
Please, read below the details of this transaction and what is required of you to get this transaction started:

Mr. Andrew Parker was my client for over a decade. He died of cardiac arrest in 2002. He had a deposit in the sum of US$45M with Delta Lloyd Finance Amsterdam.

The bank contacted me as Mr. Andrew Parker’s attorney to get his next of kin. I have not been able to get any of his relations. The bank now has the right to confiscate the funds if I do not produce his next of kin soonest. This is the reason why I contacted you so you can act as the next of kin.

If you reply this email by sending me your full name, address, telephone and fax number, I will prepare and send to you a memorandum of understanding which will have to be duly signed by both parties (your good self and I) as
an agreement, so as to protect the shares of both parties and to be in order by laws of your country and the laws of my country.

After the signing of the MOU, I will then email to you the death certificate of Andrew Parker. I will prepare Andrew Parker’s Will in your name. With the Will, I will then get the letter of administration from the probate office thereby making you the next of kin and the bona fide beneficiary of the funds.
I will forward the Will and the letter of administration to the Bank in Europe.
They will then contact you to come to their office to claim the said funds.
When you get to their office in Europe, you sign the funds release documents, they will then transfer the sum of US$45M into your nominated account.

When the funds are transferred into your nominated account, I will then travel to meet with you to share the proceeds. I will take 80% and you will take 20%.

I will exhort you to not only treat this transaction with the gravity it deserves, but also with urgency. May I reiterate that the importance of the confidentiality and speed in this transaction cannot be over emphasized.

Hence in bolstering of confidentiality you are advised against discussing with anyone or your bank the expectation of the funds until I advise you otherwise.
Please treat as urgent.

Send the information ASAP as time is of the essence.
Thank you and God bless.

Philip Price LLB

Over the last months a new kind of Advance Fee Fraud e-mail has been seen. The global financial crisis and the sub prime problems which started it all, have obviously created the basis for e-mails offering cheap credit up to 100 miliion USD.

 Don't fall for these loan offers!: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They don’t actually call it a lottery in this one, but it’s written like the Yahoo & MSN scam e-mails which have been reported often here. Instead of MSN they name Windows Live as the cooperation partner. Looks as though they are modernizing.

One of our readers reported a scam website being used to convince potential victims, that there is really an account with money in it.

The weakness of the crooks having their own domain (in this case http://www.bbplc-uk.com/uk/index.htm) is simply the fact that to own a domain you have to give details to the registry, such as name and address. These crooks are hiding behind PrivacyProtection.org, which hides such information in the registry database with it’s own information.

This works as long as nobody reports the website being used for online crime. But, of course, we did just that today, didn’t we.

[Caption]

www.bbplc-uk.com, fraud website

The Euromilliones Loteria is another favorite lottery company which often misused for scam e-mails.

The contact numbers quoted don’t look right (011 34 664 701 582) and are not reachable, at least not from Germany.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Euro Millions
Date: Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 5:51 AM
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION NOTICE
To:

AVDA. CARLOS GONZALEZ Nº 16, 5°C; 28005 MADRID, SPAIN.

27th of August 2008
FROM: THE DESK OF MANAGING DIRECTOR
REF NUMBER: LP/2561000/08
TICKET NUMBER: 695-75QPZ4
BATCH NUMBER: 19762008/SP

ATTN:WINNER

AWARD NOTIFICATION NOTICE

We are pleased to inform you of release of the EUROMILLONES LOTERIA PROGRAM held on 04/07 2008. Among the 126 participating international finalists playing 6000 full tickets in the fifth series, from a pool of $36,200,000.00 (Thirty Six Million Two Hundred Thousand Euros) in cash, your number 036-22564992-730 with Ticket number 695-75QPZ4 drew the lucky numbers 16-23-36-39-41 which consequently won a prize in the 3rd category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of € 5.712,877.84C (Five Million.Seventy Hundred Twelve Thousand,Eight Hundred and Seven Euros. Eighty Four Cents Only) in cash credited to a file REF Nº LP/2561000/04,TICKET 695-75QPZ4,BATCH Nº 19762004/SP Congratulations!!!!!.
Due to the impossibility to reach you, your fund and award certificate has been deposited with PLATINUM SECURITIES,S.L. and registered to your file claim number and insured in your name. Please forward all your claims to them as a bond has been placed on your award and they will be responsible for handling and remittance of won prices and funds until they are accurately disbursed. The deadline for this notice is the 10th of September 2008. Non-compliance within this period may result in disqualification and insured prizes will be returned to the MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y HACIENDA as unclaimed. Due to mixed up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your nominated bank account or by a certified cheque, as this is a part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unwarranted advantage of this program by participants. All participants were selected through 25.000 names from USA, New Zealand, Europe, South America, Australia, Middle East, Africa and Asia as part of our international Promotions Program. We hope your lucky name will draw a bigger cash prize in subsequent programs. To begin your claim, please contact Mr Donald Clark, Foreign operation manager of PLATINUM SECURITIES S. L. at Tel:011 34 664 701 582 : FAX:011 34 911 817 817 655. Email: Platinum01@mail2world.com for handling and payment procedures. NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your Reference, Batch and Ticket numbers in every of your correspondence with us or your agent Furthermore, should there be any change of your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible. Also note that you are to pay in return ten percent (10%) of the money you received to the PLATINUM SECURITIES .S. L. after which you have received the money in your designated account in your country.

We are hereby advice you to contact your claims agent immediately Mr. Donald Clark. Congratulations!!!! once again from all staff and thank you for choosing The Spanish int´l Lotto Commission.

Sincerely:
MRS CASSANDRA JOSE
DIRECTOR

Euromilliones, Cassandra Jose

Dubious loan offers like this are coming in more frequently these days. It looks as though the sub prime market is proving to a lucrative harvesting place for all sorts of crooks.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ~EXCEL FINANCIAL HOME~
Date: Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 2:01 AM
Subject: APPLY FOR URGENT LOAN HERE
To:

Monday-Saturday:7:30am-6:30pm {Processing time}.
Sunday:12noon-6:30pm {Processing time}.

Compliment of the season.

I am Mr. Austin Brown of Excel financial home.
I am a certified loan lender i give out loan at interest rate 0f 3%. I give out loan for any purpose. Do you want to pay your bills?, oR in financial problem? even bad credit? or for any other reason?. Contact us today with the following
email: officeloanlender@gmail.com

With the following information:

Full Name:……………………
Contact Address:………………
Phone:……………………….
Country:……………………..
Amount Needed as Loan:…………
Loan Duration:………………..
Sex:…………………………

we can start with the processing of your
loan immediately.

Mr. Austin Brown
Managing Director

loan fraud, austin brown, Excel Financial Home

Whoever came up with that name?

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Jerry Freeman <gerryfreeman@eircom.net>
Date: Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 11:56 PM
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONTACT CLAIMS OFFICE.
To:

National Postcode Lottery

Attn: Winner

We bring to your notice the winning letter from Nationale Postcode Lottery {United Kingdom Promotion Company} held on the 8th of August, 2008 through Internet ballot System among 10,000 Microsoft users.

Subsequently, your email address attached to ticket number 24.2.6.37.15.45 won contract sum of 800,000.00 Pounds ,winning number 100364,ref number 00786.We request you to pay serious attention to this notification by contacting the claims department with claim information and procedures of claim.

Mr. Williams Brown
Tel: +44-871-794-2686
Fax: +44-7006-090-400
Email:unityfinance@sify.com

Congratulations once again from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

Yours Sincerely,
Jerry Freeman
National Postcode Lottery

Oh yes, my email address is randomly selected. It and several hundred others …

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Uk Gaming House <gerry_burke@eircom.net>
Date: Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 1:50 AM
Subject: Final Notice !!!
To:

BATCH NUMBER:065/088/XY24
TICKET NUMBER:023-1111-790-458
12th April 2008

This email is to notify you that this email address was randomly selected and entered into our free Third Category draws. You have subsequently emerged a winner and therefore entitled to a substantial amount of 552,000.00 Pounds.

For further information, kindly confirm receipt of this email, by forwarding Your Details as states below to our claims department on Email :uk_foreignunit@yahoo.co.uk

INFORMATION REQUESTED:
(a) Your full Name:
(b) Contact address:
(c) Your Telephone and fax numbers:
(d) Your Age:
(e) Your occupation:
(f) Your country of origin:

Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,
Award Notification Team
UK GAMING HOUSE

Do they mean Bono from U2?

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: BONO LOTTERY AWARD <aclaimoffice1@aim.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 5:08 PM
Subject: (Cnfirmation By Calling .)Call Now.
To:

 YOU WON
 INTERNATIONAL PRIZE/AWARD DEPARTMENT
 YOU WON (1,000,000,00)Euros
 BONO LOTTERY AWARD
 VALENCIA SPAIN
 BATCH: 14/017/ZHV /ES
 REFERENCE NO : OHA/2456H987708/02
 
 Dear:Winner,
 We are pleased to inform you of t he result of the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 01/04/08 of April, 2008.(Ticket Number:05894365847659 /Serial Number:4882-2/Lucky Number:13-29-12-85-37.) Your e-mail address attached to the ticket number which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of Euros 1,000,000.00 (One Millon Euros).
 CONGRATULATIONS!
 Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims ha s been processed and your money Remitted to you and this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 70,000 company and 50,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every Two year. We hope with part of your winning you will take part in ou r next 50 million Euros International lottery.
 To file for your claim, please contact our Fiducial Agent:
 
 BONO TRUST AGENCY
  Name: MR.JUAN SOLEMAN
 Email:aclaimoffice@aol.com
 Tel: 0034-634-045-998
 Fax: 0034-911-012-759
  
 Our fiducial agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him.This promotion was organised by some eminent personalities from all over the world to promote software companies and it takes place every two years.Please remember that all winning must be processed not later than 27th of April 2008 or when authentic proof is given for the delay of filing your winning claim.
 To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your full names,your country, your private Telephone and fax number, your reference/batch numbers etc in any correspondences with us or our designated agent.Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this programand also thank you f or being part of our promotional lottery program.Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
  
 
 Sincerely Yours,
 Mrs.Philipina George
 Lottery Co-ordinator