Something Smells Phishy To Me…

I followed up on my last post regarding the vishing attempt using 801.807.0323 and was pleasantly amused that the Federal Trade Commission had taken over the telephone number and provided an automatic message announcing that the number was involved in a phishing scam and providing additional educational information in reference to identity theft.

Good for them.  Good for consumers.

You can listen to the FTC message here:

ftc-message-about-telephone-scams

Now, I wonder when they will go after the telephone number account holder where the calls were being forwarded?  (515) 414-6098.  I’ve been calling repeatedly in an effort to interview the scammers, but surprisingly they will not answer the phone.

Investigator’s Notes:

This another vishing attempt using a phony phone number to try and scam people- albeit not a very good one.  The first thing that caught my eye was that the phone number; the scammers are trying to get their intended victims to call a Utah number, when in fact, GTE Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Tampa, FL.  When I called the provided number, 801-807-0323, it forwarded to another phone number, 515-414-6098 (an Ogden, Iowa number), and I received a standard generic voicemail prompt to leave a message.

From: GTE Federal Credit Union, [mailto:notice@gtefcu.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 11:36 AM
Subject: Security Notice!

Investigator’s Notes:

This is a new type of email scam going around where a supposed hit man or contract killer states that he has been hired to kill the receiver of the email and demands cash from the mark instead of killing his intended victim.  This is not to say that if you receive such an email that you should not take it to your local law enforcement agency immediately or call 911.

Below is an example of the basic email that is going around from someone who has apparently received such a threat.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From: Dr. Z [mailto:scott@stealthir.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 9:57 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Private Investigator & Hacker’s service needed

Need to identify email sender of “Pay or get killed” threat below:

Please inform on cost & what evidence can you provide against suspect Ezzat N Sleieh Tel: 601 924 0900 (110 Shadia dr, Clinton MS 39056) who has prison history and also lieves nasty voice messages on my phone..

please respond to R A Z at aab@ix.netcom.com or leave a voice message at 714 870 0290 .

Tracking source IPO and headers: (72.14.204.174 US UNITED STATES CALIFORNIA WESTWOOD GOOGLE INC 72.14.204.174 NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN VIEW PST )

Thanks

The Threat:

—– Original Message —–

From: mino mall [minomalm@gmail.com]
To:
Sent: 8/24/2008 10:42:33 AM
Subject: COPERATE OR GO DOWN……..

listen carefully, you can call me mino,you must count yourself lucky and thank your stars,someone wants you dead and i was paid to carry out the assignment,this is suppossed to be my last assignment b/4 leaving the shores of this country,you can change your fate and your destiny if you coperate with me, all i need is the sum of 7000usd and i will give you all the details you need to know about my employer,which will help you to nail him down with the police if you wish,(it is against my profession to betray my employers but am doing this as a form of revenge for what he did to my brother in the past,b/4 he will know what hit him am already out of the country). but if you fail to comply or try to play smart with me…..well..sorry you will leave me with no other options. my eyes and that of my boys are all over you. note:everything has to be done withing a weak else you will have yourself to blame.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I suppose that if you cannot write or spell very basic English your next best career option is in contract killing…

From: yuushin22@gmail.com [mailto:yuushin22@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Mr. Shin Yuu
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 3:22 AM
Subject: PLEASE GET BACK TO ME, MR. SHIN YUU.

Dear,

My name is MR. SHIN YUU,a contractor from Japan.The statistics shows that the economy of your country is getting better and will be more profitable in few years to come. I do hereby wish to let you know that I am interested to invest in your country through you. I am in HONG KONG at the moment with the Sum of Sixty Five Million,five Hundred Thousand US Dollars ($65,500.000.00) that I would like to invest in your country if possible.

I made this money through a contract awarded to me in OSAKA by the ministry during the relocation of OSAKA AIRPORT, and I am not safe if I should go back to Japan because I did not finish the contract. I hope you can understand my situation and assist me to invest this money properly as this is my only hope.

Please kindly get back to me as soon as possible through my private email addresses below if you are really interested to deal with me.

Best regards,

MR. SHIN YUU
Email:yu_u_shin4@hotmail.com

Good Day,

My name is Dr (Mrs.) Faith Zenwakolo, a dying woman who has decided to donate what I have to charity through any thoughtful and selfless someone, I got your information while browsing through the internet, although I am not comfortable using this medium owing to the unsolicited emails everywhere but someone has to be used to save this transaction. So, I honestly crave your indulgence to digest and do what I have to say, please.

I am a 59 years old woman and was diagnosed for cancer about 2 years ago, after the death of my cheating spouse who had left me everything he worked for. I have decided to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband for charity through you since I cannot do it all by myself considering my circumstances.

I have WILLED/donated the sum of $3,500,000 (Three million five hundred thousand dollars) to you/Organization for the less privileged rather than allow my greedy relatives to use my husband’s hard earned funds inappropriately.

I will be going for an operation tomorrow morning and at the moment I cannot take any telephone calls, however, I have adjusted my WILL and my Executor is aware. Please, you and him should arrange the transfer of the funds from my Finance company to your humble self, wherever you are. Please contact my Executor with his private E-mail:

————————————————–
BARRISTER DAVID IMEGWU
barr_davidimegwu@post.ro
————————————————–

With your full names, phone/fax numbers and or your contact address and tell him you are the one that I have WILLED the sum of $3,500,000 to, for specific and good work.

I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until the task is accomplished as I do not want anything that will jeopardize my last wish. I will try and be in contact with you at any given opportunity.

I wish you all the best and, please use the funds well and always extend the good work to others.

Regards,
Dr (Mrs.) Faith Zenwakolo

Note:
Dr Lang Spencer is my personal doctor and I am sending you this mail through his email.

She would have seen it coming if only she had read my Guide to Identifying Cheating Spouses

From: Simonyi@yahoo.com.hk
Reply-to: simon.yi33@gmail.com
Sent: 8/30/2008 4:17:28 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE

DEAR FRIEND,

I am Mr.Simon Yi Executive Director of the Hang Seng Bank Ltd, Hong Kong.

An Iraqi named Haider Hanoon,a business man made a numbered fixed  deposit of (346,736,899.68 TWD) for 18 calendar months, this is valued  to Fourty Four million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars only  in my branch. Upon maturity several notice was sent to him, even  during the war, four years ago (2003). Again after the war another  notification was sent and still no response came from him. We later  found out that Haider Hanoon and his family had been killed during the  war in Gunfire that hit their home at Mukaradeeb where his personal  oil well was.

After further investigation it was also discovered that Haider Hanoon  did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the  paper work of his bank deposit. And he also confided in me the last  time we was at my office that no one except me knew of his deposit in  my bank. So, Fourty Four million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars is still lying in my bank and no one will ever come forward to  claim it. What bothers me is that according to the laws of my country  at the expiration five years six months the funds will revert to the  ownership of the Hong Kong Government if nobody applies to claim the  funds.

My proposal, I am prepared to place you as the next of kin in a  position to instruct HANG SENG BANK to release the deposit to you as  the closest surviving relation. Upon receipt of the deposit, I am  prepared to share the money with you in half. That is: I will simply  nominate you as the next of kin and have them release the deposit to  you. We share the procentange 70/30. I would have gone ahead to ask  the funds be released to me, but that would have drawn a straight line  in my involvement in claiming the deposit.I assure you that I could  have the deposit released to you within a few days. I will simply  inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to Haider  Hanoon I will then officially communicate with my Bank and instruct  them to release the deposit to you. With these: all is done. I am  aware of the consequences of this proposal.

I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should  discard this mail. I ask that you do not be vindictive and  destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you,delete this message  and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but people like  myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the  whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do  not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to  understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this  move. Such opportunities only come ones way once in a lifetime. I  cannot let this chance pass me by, for once I find myself in total  control of my destiny. These chances wont pass me by. I ask that you  do not destroy my chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me. I am a family man  and this is an opportunity to pro
vide them with new opportunities.

If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this process towards  a conclusion. I wish to inform you that should you contact me via  official channels; I will deny knowing you and about this project. I  repeat, I do not want you contacting me through my official phone  lines nor do I want you contacting me through my official email  account. Contact me only through the numbers I will provide for you  and also through the email account that i will provide therein in this  email. Further more be informed that the fact that you are a foreigner give  you the privilege to stand in as my deceased client beneficiary as my  deceased client had no relation all his family died with him during  the war and I can not use my relation because its not accepted here in  Hong Kong. Also I am very confident that we will be able to establish  the trust that is needed to complete this deal and all that I need  from the time been is your willingness and commitment so that we can end this in
the next one week.

What you need to understand about this transaction is that I will make  sure that it passes through all international banking laws regards to  this I will take care of all the expenses and the cost of retaining  the service of my Attorney to give the transaction the proper documentation that is required to perfect the finishing. Your only  obligation in this transaction will be to set up an offshore account  that can accommodate these funds and I will give you more light later  once you agree to partner with me. Like I said before there is no risk involve as it will pass through  international banking laws and all documents related to this  transaction will be sent to you by post for your perusal and trust.

I do not want any direct link between you and me. My official lines  are not secure lines as they are periodically monitored to assess our  level of customer care in line with our Total Quality Management  Policy. Please observe this instruction religiously. Please, again,  note I am a family man, I have wife and children. I send you this mail  not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences, but I know  within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and  riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth  I have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my  confidence. If we can be of one accord, we should plan a meeting,  soon. Should you be interested I will prefer you to send me your FULL NAMES,ADDRESS,OCCUPATION AND PHONE NUMBER.on the  email address below.

E-mail:simon.yi33@gmail.com

Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

I await your response.

Mr.Simon Yi

Hanoon’s response to Simon, “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch and your arms be too short to scratch.”

From: robertmueller@fbi.gov
Reply-to: atm.card.centrre@live.com
Sent: 8/31/2008 4:17:39 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Important Alert From Federal Bureau Of Investigation(ATM CARD PAYMENT)

Anti-Terrorist and Monitory Crimes Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J. Edgar. Hoover Building, Washington D.C
Telephone Number : ( 202 )-324-3001

ATTN: BENEFICIARY

This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you are having an illegal transaction with Impostors claiming to be Prof. Charles C. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Mr Frank Nweke, none officials of Oceanic Bank, none officials of Zenith Bank and some impostors claiming to be the Federal Bureau Of Investigation agents. During our Investigation, it came to our notice that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your Financial Obligation given to you in respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment [as a result of the Pensacola Identity Theft and the help you asked for.]

So therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in the total amount of $800,000.00 USD which will be deposited into an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw funds anywhere of the world. You now have the lawful right to claim your funds which have been deposited into the ATM CARD.

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been involved in this transaction, you are now to be rest assured that this transaction is legitimate and completely risk-free as it is our duty to Protect and Serve citizens of the United States Of America. All you have to do is immediately contact the ATM CARD CENTER via E-mail for instructions on how to procure your Approval Slip which contains details on how to receive and activate your ATM CARD for immediate use to withdraw funds being paid to you. We have confirmed that the amount required to procure the Approval Slip will cost you a total of $550 USD which will be paid directly to the ATM CARD CENTER agent via Western Union Money Transfer / MoneyGram Money Transfer. Below, you shall find contact details of the Agent whom will process your transaction:

CONTACT INFORMATION

NAME: MR. PAUL SMITH
EMAIL: atm.card.centrre@live.com
Telephone Number : +234-808-252-6229

Immediately contact Mr. Paul Smith of the ATM Card Centre with the following information:

Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Direct Phone Number:
Current Occupation:
Annual Income:

Once you have sent the required information to Mr. Paul Smith he will contact you with instructions on how to make the payment of $550 USD for the Approval Slip after which he will proceed towards delivery of the ATM CARD without any further delay. You have hereby been authorized/guaranteed by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation to commence towards completing this transaction, as there shall be NO delay once payment for the Approval Slip has been made to the authorized agent.

Once you have completed payment of $550 to the agent in charge of this transaction, immediately contact me back so as to ensure your ATM CARD gets to you rapidly.

FBI Director
Robert Mueller.

Scammers posing as FBI Director Rober Mueller… now THAT is funny!

From: garanga1@gmail.com
Reply-to: abrahamgarang1980@gmail.com
Sent: 9/2/2008 11:56:34 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: FROM ABRAHAM GARANG

FROM ABRAHAM GARANG
KUALA LUMPUR
MALAYSIA.
EMAIL: abrahamgarang1980@gmail.com
Tel: +60149218162

Good Day.

I am Abraham Garang the second son of late Mr. John Garang who was until his death the vice president of Sudan in Africa. In brief, my late father was a strong opposition for over 20years until he was appointed the vice president on the 9th July 2005 by the United Nations Peace Team as an avenue to quench 20years civil war in Sudan. He died on the 31st of July 2005 following a helicopter crash along side with 12 others just 22 days after appointment as the vice president. What led to the crash is still unclear but i know my father was the target.

I am Currently residing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a student. Before the death of my father, he had taken me to Johannesburg to deposit the sum of US$20M (Twenty Million United States Dollars) in a security company undisclosed under my name , as if he foresaw the looming danger in Sudan,I contacted The security company  few days ago and i was told that the box is due for collection ,And they also told me that if i cannot come down to South Africa to collect the box, that they can send down the box to Malaysia through a diplomatic immunity, My father did not disclose the real contents of the box to the company, he only told them that it is family valuables, and the box is locked with Pin numbers which i alone Know.

Reason why i have contacted you is for you to come down to Malaysia meet me and we make arrangment on receiving the box from the diplomatic, My problem is that due to my status here as a student and only 24 years old ,I cannot open an account that can run the volume of this amount or even have any financial obligation talk less of investment here. Therefore, I prefer to have a business partner from overseas who has an idea of lucrative investment to come down here(Malaysia ) and take care of this arrangement with me and have the funds transferred to his account or company’s account for investment purpose .

For your efforts, i am prepared to offer you 30% of the total fund US$20M and 5% will be set aside for local and international expenses that may be incurred in the course of this transaction while 65% will be for me and my Sister for investment package in your country upon our arrival.Because at the end of this transaction i and my sister  will love to move down to your country.

Things you need to do

1 come down here ( MALAYSIA ) meet me in person and assist me to receive the box from the diplomatic agent that will be bringing it down here.
2 Open an account here in Malaysia under your name for onward transfer to your account in your copuntry
3 At the end of this transaction you will get me and my sister a Visa to come and study in your country while you help us invest our 65% in a lucrative business until we finish our studies.

Please, Do not entertain any fear as all documents to back you up will be provided,If we must do this transaction successfully, we must keep it away from ears of the public.Call me for confirmation upon receipt of this mail or better still email me a confirmation. And i must assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free and will be done legally to avoid any breach of law.

Please reply only to my private email which is abrahamgarang1980@gmail.com  and also it is important you call me on my number +60149218162 as soon as you get this mail

Best regards,

Abraham Garang

On a very serious note:  NEVER <EVER> travel to a foreign country to meet someone in a deal like this.  NEVER-EVER.  There are only 3 possible outcomes:  1.  You will be scammed.  2.  You will be robbed.  3.  You will be kidnapped and held for ransom.

Of course, you might also be murdered.

From: JohnLindsay@creighton.edu
Sent: 9/2/2008 3:08:46 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Contact FEDEX Now: Regarding Your Underlivered Parcel

Reply to (paul.alvin-fedex.courier@j-mail.info)

I have been waiting for you since to contact me for your Confirmable Bank Draft of $50,000.00 United States Dollars, but I did not hear from you since that time. Then I went and deposited the Draft with FEDEX COURIER SERVICE, West Africa, I travelled out of the country for 3 Months Course and I will not come back till end of August.

What you have to do now is to contact the FEDEX COURIER SERVICE as soon as possible to know when they will deliver your package to you because of the expiring date. For your information, I have paid for the delivering Charge, Insurance premium and Clearance Certificate Fee of the Cheque showing that it is not a Drug Money or meant to sponsor Terrorist attack in your Country.

The only money you will send to the FEDEX COURIER SERVICE to deliver your Draft direct to your postal Address in your country is ($290.00 US) Dollars only being Security Keeping Fee of the Courier Company so far. Again, dont be deceived by anybody to pay any other money except $290.00 US Dollars. I would have paid that but they said no because they dont know when you will contact them and in case of demurrage.

You have to contact the FEDEX COURIER SERVICE now for the delivery of your Draft with this information bellow:

Contact Person: Mr Paul Locket Alvin
Email Address: paul.alvin-fedex.courier@j-mail.info
Telephone: +(234)8053117181

Finally, make sure that you reconfirm your Postal address and Direct telephone number to them again to avoid any mistake on the Delivery and ask them to give you the tracking number to enable you track your package over there and know when it will get to your address. Let me repeat again, try to contact them as soon as you receive this mail to avoid any further delay and remember to pay them their Security Keeping fee of $290.00 US Dollars for their immediate action. You should also let me know through email as soon as you receive your Draft.

Yours Faithfully,

LindsayJohn William

This is classic Advance Fee Fraud and actually the first time I’ve seen a scammer actually put a dollar figure on how much they intend to bilk their unsuspecting victims in an email.

From: Alabama Central Credit Union [mailto:secure@alabamacentral.org]
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 9:56 AM
Subject: Security Update
Importance: High

Due to recent atacks targeting Alabama Central Credit Union we are pleased to introduce a fully upgraded Banking System.  This new feature will protect your Alabama Central Credit Union Visa Card.

How does it works:
Your card details will be encrypted using 128bit Secure Sockets Layer technology.
International transactions will be strictly monitored.
Access to your card over the internet will be more secure and more easy to use.

SERVICE : Secure my Card.
EXPIRATION: September 04, 2008

Take advantage of our new security upgrade now!
Click on the link below to proceed:
alabamacentral.org/upgrade/visa.card/login.html

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire banking system.

Best Regards,
Alabama Central Credit Union - 3601 4th Avenue So. Birmingham, AL 35222

Masked link pointed to:
mail.medigy.net/epublish/images/ac/ 

which then redirects the browser to:
212.62.250.94:84/accu/index.htm