Topic: Another scam, When will they clean up the internet?

[ACE]

Attachments, pictures and links in this message have been blocked for your safety. 


Dear Applicant: Following an upgrade of our computer systems and review of our records we have investigated your payments and latest tax returns over the last seven years our calculations show you have made over payments of ?256.99Due to the high volume of refunds due you must complete the on line application, the telephone help line is unable to assist with this application.In order to process your refund you will need to complete the attached application form.Your refund may take up to 3 weeks to process please make sure you complete the form correctly.As we are upgrading our records we require the completed form showing your full current details by 20 August 2010 Please submit the form attached to confirm the refund.

  S. M.RobertsSenior ManagerHM Revenue & Customs --------------------------------------------------------------© Copyright 2010, HM Revenue & Customs UK All rights reserved.TAX REFUND ID: A29R119


--Forwarded Message Attachment--


Who do they think they are kidding. Being a bonafide tax dodger, I have not paid any tax for years ;)

[Jeannine]

Well done Ace..they won't get past you.. by the way you ain't changed your picture recently.

XX Jeannine

[markp2511]

I had that one a few weeks ago.  Apart from the fact it's an obvious scam, since when did the revenue ever contact anyone by email?  Or offer a refund for that matter?! 

As a general rule for everyone out there, never ever click on a link to take you anywhere to do with money from an unsolicited email.  Always log on to sites in your usual way - your bank etc will never send a link to log on, so if an email is asking you to, it's a fraud.

[Bugloss2009]

Well done Ace..they won't get past you.. by the way you ain't changed your picture recently.

XX Jeannine

they'd have more luck if they pretended to be a Flood Charity

[PurpleHeather]

The internet was always supposed to be a free area for all. Yes it does mean that there are scammers around. Identity thieves and lots of other things.

I know that and will never reveal my true date of birth or anything else.

Personally I like the free society which is ungoverned.

Yes we have a lot of problems with it but I think it is worth it for the freedom it offers.

No I do not buy on line either. I phone up some times and tell them that their computer link keeps failing so can I get the same price over the phone---and always do.

Sadly all this is disappearing and another freedom is being lost because idiots who think they can get something for nothing have, and usually,deservedly become victims of a scam.

Whingers and Whiners, consider. Your stupidity is gradually loosing the last international freedom for normal humans.

If you can not deal with a dirty internet go off and watch TV

[ACE]

The internet was always supposed to be a free area for all.



Personally I like the free society which is ungoverned.

Yes we have a lot of problems with it but I think it is worth it for the freedom it offers.

.

I wish I lived in your credulous world. Yet you can sit back and call the rest of us gullable. I don't suppose your usage of the internet is logged by your provider who you had to supply details to, I don't suppose any of your phone calls are logged, because you believe you are invisible. You are tracked and traced in every shop with a 'club card' all on computer. They even know how many times you have a crap by the amount of toilet roll you buy.

They already know who is using the internet so regardless of loss of liberties why don't they come down on them like a ton of bricks. My wife works for an adult abuse team, some of these gullable old fools, as you term them, who have lost thousands,  are merely trusting individuals who believe what they read, a bit like you really.

[BarriedaleNick]

why don't they come down on them like a ton of bricks.

Beacause the Interent doesnt work that way.  For a start, if I wanted, I could be vitually anonomous on the net.  I can use anonomous proxies, encryption, spoof email addresses, hide behind firewalls or use lots of freely available software to hide my tracks.  If I was say a Russian scammer/spammer I'd be layered up with everything I could get my hands on and then some more and even if you could trace me from the Uk then you couldn't do anything about my illegal activities in the Ukraine.  Even if you could get the authorities into action I will probably get away with it due to the high burden of proof and man hours it would take to bring me to justice.  Plus of course there are plenty of coutries where I just buy my way out.

Blaming the Interent for this is like blaming the road for bringing the criminal to the door or the post office when postal banking scams were prevelent - utterly pointless.  What is needed is education for users and coordinated international action but you will never stop scams like this completely.

Personally I think the gains of an open internet far outway the dangers - I am perfectly happy to bank and shop online and have been doing so for years.

[Chrispy]

Phase 1 scams as they are now known are deliberately made to look like an obvious scam.

What they do is send out 10s of millions of near identical emails, each one is just a little different, often quite subtle, but sometimes quite obvious, i.e. sign with a different name or have a unique reference number included.

What they then do next, is they use google and other search engines to find who has posted a copy of the email to a forum, and by using the unique bit of the email to link the email address to the forum account.

Next they use a piece of software called a 'victim analyser' that read and analyses all the forum posts and builds a 'victim profile', only works if you have a lot of posts.

From this profile, the software works out and sends a targeted email, which the victims falls for most of the time.

So when yo receive a scam, just delete it, don't click on any links, and for gods sake, never ever post it on a forum.

[Bugloss2009]

goodness knows what kind of "victim profile" they'll draw up from ACE  :D

[ACE]

Phase 1 scams as they are now known are deliberately made to look like an obvious scam.

What they do is send out 10s of millions of near identical emails, each one is just a little different, often quite subtle, but sometimes quite obvious, i.e. sign with a different name or have a unique reference number included.

What they then do next, is they use google and other search engines to find who has posted a copy of the email to a forum, and by using the unique bit of the email to link the email address to the forum account.

Next they use a piece of software called a 'victim analyser' that read and analyses all the forum posts and builds a 'victim profile', only works if you have a lot of posts.

From this profile, the software works out and sends a targeted email, which the victims falls for most of the time.

So when yo receive a scam, just delete it, don't click on any links, and for gods sake, never ever post it on a forum.

Bull sh!t

[Old bird]

I suppose that due to the scale of the internet and the speed at which fraudsters and the like think up new scams then it is nigh on impossible to stop!

I feel sorry for the people that are - with the greatest of respect - more simple of mind, or elderley and who believe these things and fall for them every single time.

I am sure that there will come a time when I am ripped off - as I am not very careful or particularly security minded for these things. 

I would love it if all of the rip off merchants would stop but hell freezing over is more likely than than!

Old Bird

[djbrenton]

Phase 1 scams as they are now known are deliberately made to look like an obvious scam.

What they do is send out 10s of millions of near identical emails, each one is just a little different, often quite subtle, but sometimes quite obvious, i.e. sign with a different name or have a unique reference number included.

What they then do next, is they use google and other search engines to find who has posted a copy of the email to a forum, and by using the unique bit of the email to link the email address to the forum account.

Next they use a piece of software called a 'victim analyser' that read and analyses all the forum posts and builds a 'victim profile', only works if you have a lot of posts.

From this profile, the software works out and sends a targeted email, which the victims falls for most of the time.

So when yo receive a scam, just delete it, don't click on any links, and for gods sake, never ever post it on a forum.

I'm curious as to what exactly I've posted in forums that makes me look a target for viagra or male member enhancement. Anyone posting the scam email on a forum would ( if they really did as you suggest) immediately be written off as too sceptical.

I really don't know why people don't have spam filters installed. I haven't actually seen a spam email on my PC in years using Firefox.

[BarriedaleNick]

I really don't know why people don't have spam filters installed. I haven't actually seen a spam email on my PC in years using Firefox.

Well put it this way - I run a mail server here and on average 70-75% of all email recieved at the gateway are spam or malicious.
I block 200,000  spam emails a month with my filters so I would conclude they are well worth having.
Firefox is a web browser not an email client btw..

[Chrispy]

Phase 1 scams as they are now known are deliberately made to look like an obvious scam.

What they do is send out 10s of millions of near identical emails, each one is just a little different, often quite subtle, but sometimes quite obvious, i.e. sign with a different name or have a unique reference number included.

What they then do next, is they use google and other search engines to find who has posted a copy of the email to a forum, and by using the unique bit of the email to link the email address to the forum account.

Next they use a piece of software called a 'victim analyser' that read and analyses all the forum posts and builds a 'victim profile', only works if you have a lot of posts.

From this profile, the software works out and sends a targeted email, which the victims falls for most of the time.

So when yo receive a scam, just delete it, don't click on any links, and for gods sake, never ever post it on a forum.

Bull sh!t

Yes, of course it is. Thought it up while sitting on the loo, had to think of something else as I could not find where to scan my clubcard.

Joking aside, what inspired me was Ace seems so worried about his ID, but then so freely gives out information on the forum.

I say 'seems' as I have not looked in detail at Ace's posts to see if there is a risk, so if you think you are safe, then fine, this is not about ace, this is about all of us.
It took me about a minute to find the home address of a member and when their house would be empty, so please do think when you post and stay safe.