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  • Email Fraud Victims

    For those of you who work in banks, shipping centers, the post office, tech support, any place dealing with money orders or Western Union, and so on, I have two things that have me curious.

    1- How do you recognize customers who are victims of email fraud? I'm talking about those who have or are about to send lots of money to Africa or some other foreign country, thinking that they're going to get even more money back somehow (long-lost rich relative died, distribute the wealth of a dying philanthropist, sneak money out of a corrupt country's bank, etc.). Is it blatantly obvious what they're doing, or do you have to listen for clues in conversation? And is there anything you can do to stop them?

    I ask because I have co-workers who seem clueless about these email scams. One almost fell for the "great part time job" of cashing checks and wiring 90% of the money elsewhere. Another actually responded to an email offering a free purebred puppy (provided that the adopter sends $200 to Africa to safely ship the puppy to the US). Fortunately, I've been able to talk them out of it.

    I can imagine, though, that someone working at, say, a grocery store's service counter and issuing money orders, might have some rules about not telling customers what they should or should not do with their money. Frankly, I'd probably break those rules pretty quickly if I could tell the customer was about to get the shaft like that.

    2- I'm concerned for most people who get roped into these scams, but at the same time, I can think of a few customers I've met who could stand to learn a lesson the hard way. Any good stories along those lines?
    I suspect that... inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way.
    - Bill Watterson

    My co-workers: They're there when they need me.
    - IPF

  • #2
    Mods - please don't shoot me as I have seen a lot of these vics over the years and have helped a lot of them as a hobby.

    You may want to read up on - and refer some of your co-workers to sites like Fraudwatchers or Internet Love Scams or Joe Wein's 419 Scam Site

    All sites have great resources on how to recognize scams and how to keep from falling for them.

    I've been pretty active in the anti-scam deal for a while, and those are three of the best sites on the 'net to check out and see if there's anything that's there that can help.

    B
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."- Albert Einstein.
    I never knew how happy paint could make people until I started selling it.

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    • #3
      Rule of thumb. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Seriously, that's about all you need to do. If the person believes they're getting something of value for next to nothing, they're almost certainly being scammed.
      The Case of the Missing Mandrake; A Jude Derry, Sorceress Sleuth Mystery Available on Amazon.

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      • #4
        I almost fell for a fake bank page this morning. Luckily I realized what it was and changed my banking password to be on the safe side. Anyone who banks with Chase, beware. It's an e-mail that is claiming to send you some sort of activation code and links to a fake login page. Whoever set it up was good.

        Part of me is surprised that people still fall for the Nigirian scams since they seem to so obviously be scams.
        I am no longer of capable of the emotion you humans call “compassion”. Though I can feign it in exchange for an hourly wage. (Gravekeeper)

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        • #5
          Quoth Bandit View Post
          Mods - please don't shoot me
          *lowers rifle* Darn.

          No, seriously though, not sure why you said that. We don't condone illegal behaviour, but I don't usually see most people on those types of sites (like the infamous 419eater) doing illegal things, and the people they do it do ARE doing illegal things...
          Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

          http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

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          • #6
            Quoth jedimaster91 View Post
            I almost fell for a fake bank page this morning. Luckily I realized what it was and changed my banking password to be on the safe side. Anyone who banks with Chase, beware. It's an e-mail that is claiming to send you some sort of activation code and links to a fake login page. Whoever set it up was good.

            Part of me is surprised that people still fall for the Nigirian scams since they seem to so obviously be scams.
            I've found it easier to ignore every e-mail sent from a bank and presume they're fraudulent, no false negatives so far . Also it's worth going to your banks website immediately, do a search for phishing and forward the e-mail to the appropriate division, the quicker the bank knows the quicker they can take down the fake site
            Lady, people aren't chocolates. D'you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling. Dr Cox - Scrubs

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            • #7
              Quoth jedimaster91 View Post
              I almost fell for a fake bank page this morning. Luckily I realized what it was and changed my banking password to be on the safe side. Anyone who banks with Chase, beware. It's an e-mail that is claiming to send you some sort of activation code and links to a fake login page. Whoever set it up was good.
              It isn't just Chase. I've received them from several different banks, including one of my own. One of the simplest things is to hover your mouse over the link, then read the real address on the bottom bar in Explorer. Usually they're from Russia, but a couple have popped up from country domains I didn't even recognize.
              Labor boards have info on local laws for free
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              Document everything
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              • #8
                I love how I get e-mails from "Chase Bank" and I don't even bank with them.

                I've gotten a few for 'getting a job with the postal service' funny, thought I already had that. Just have to pay a little fee to get the test prep work. Only problem is...is that when one signs up for the test you get the same prep work for free.

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                • #9
                  Ethically, I'd hope they want to help the fraud victims but on the other hand, aren't the people supposed to ignore the suspicious signs because of privacy laws?

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                  • #10
                    Quoth Stormraven View Post
                    Rule of thumb. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Seriously, that's about all you need to do. If the person believes they're getting something of value for next to nothing, they're almost certainly being scammed.
                    I don't know. I think scams have moved from the more obvious get rich claims which mostly roped in the greedy to praying on the desperate.

                    Anyone selling stuff online will get approaches. The price being asked just a bit to fast, but by the way I can only pay once and you'll have to wire some money to... It's really horrible to see when it's someone who was selling something (or great personal value, and fairly small material value) to desperately pay debts.

                    Likewise they now prey on those looking for work. Which is just unbelievably cruel. Wiring admin payments while cheques for travel to interview clear etc.

                    If you're getting something for nothing it's a scam. But it can still be a scam regardless.

                    Victoria J.

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                    • #11
                      1. We can tell when people either send in a support ticket about how they don't have their login information anymore, when hundreds of emails are sent out from their address at random intervals (systems detect it), or when a virus/security hole on their computer causes them to be sent out (we have some sort of monitoring software that can tell who's computer on campus has which holes and such...NO idea how it knows but it sends out IP lists of who). Sometimes our help system even gets the emails and makes support tickets with the fraud e-mail in it We just mark it as spam and blacklist the sender usually.

                      2. You'd be surprised at how many people actually fall for it. I don't understand how people still fall for those things today. For the most part, we all have little sympathy for those because we repeat to them time and time again in various places on our school website that we:

                      1. Never ask for your credit card/social security/username/password EVER

                      2. Won't ever offer you things such as physical hard cash

                      3. Aren't in Nigeria

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                      • #12
                        One of the things I saw on the ebay user forums is that the Western Union/Moneygram/whatever representative is supposed to ask the customer what they are wiring money for.

                        If they say it's for something they won on ebay, they're supposed to deny the transaction.

                        This was at least a couple year ago though. Sellers are forbidden to ask for Western Union/Moneygram payments, but a buyer can send one anyway if they choose. Why they would I don't know. Those kinds of payments are supposed to be used to send money to people you know and trust, and are untraceable and unrecoverable once sent.
                        Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                        "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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                        • #13
                          First: Why someone would send a MoneyGram or WU for an eBay purchase. They're mistrustful of online pay sites such as PayPal. That always cracks me up, but there you have it.

                          As for why people who have fallen for this keep sending money to people that they have been told, by the authorities are stealing money: If they stop sending money and actually admit that they've been taken, they'll have to face the shame of letting themselves be victimized. Most people cannot allow themselves to be seen as having made a mistake, especially one of that magnitude. And there is nothing you can do, short of declaring them incompetant, to stop them from doing it.

                          The reason I say this is that a poster on another forum has actually had to pull an intervention on his own father for exactly this. His father got stung by the classic Nigerian scam, and he has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars already, nearly emptying his entire family bank account. The poster has monitored his email and caught him going back to contacting them after promising that he wouldn't. The wife of the man is seriously considering declaring him incompetent so that he won't be able to send any more money.

                          You cannot save people from themselves. You can only give them enough information to save themselves.

                          And, yes, the classic Nigerian scam is still going strong, and catching marks. Then there's the variation where they claim that the money has already been dealt with and just need your info to transfer your share. The foriegn lottery one is also popular. As is the "home worker" where you take payments and forward the money (minus your cut) to your "employers." And no, this one isn't new. It's been kicking around for years, just like all the rest.

                          ^-.-^
                          Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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