Times must be tough in Spammer Land (Nigeria). Or, it could be, that the poor air and water quality, in this infamous country, is beginning to rot a few brains.
How else to explain, spammers giving a deliberate “poke in the eye” to, of all organizations, the FBI. On the other hand, I suppose it’s possible to be both bold, and dead stupid, at the same time.
In any event, it’s obvious the spammers who are responsible for a ludicrous email currently making the rounds, do not subscribe to the philosophy of “choose your enemies carefully, for they shall kick your ass”. In this case, I suspect, it won’t be very long before that happens.
Most of us learned, in kindergarten, that appearances can often be deceiving. In the unlikely event that you didn’t; checkout, “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”, by Robert Fulghum. This book continues to be a phenomenal bestseller; with good reason. The following is a teeny, tiny excerpt:
“And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.”
Unfortunately, not all of us, when we are on the Internet, LOOK – really look. Not all of us recognize, “the wolf in sheep’s clothing” email scam. Spam scammers rely on this to defraud those of us who don’t.
According to a recent email I received (a perfect example of the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” scam), the FBI has interceded on my behalf, to allow me to complete an illegal transaction with Mr. Sanusi Lamido, of the Central Bank Of Nigeria.
The FBI (according to the email), kindly points out “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”.
“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 $5,000,000.00 USD which will be deposited into an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw funds anywhere of the world”.
The email goes on to say – “We have confirmed that the amount required to procure the Approval Slip will cost you a total of $196USD which will be paid directly to the ATM CARD CENTER agent via western union money transfer / money gram Money Transfer”.
Not a bad deal huh? $5,000,000.00 USD for an investment of a measly 196 Bucks – and all of it guaranteed by the FBI! Jeez, how could a rational, thoughtful person, pass up an opportunity like this?
I know that you won’t be deceived by this type of clumsy attempt to defraud, but you would be surprised how often reasonably intelligent people are. Believe it or not, there are some people, somewhere, who will believe this nonsense.
Be kind to your friends, relatives, and associates, particularly those who are new Internet users, and let them know that there is an epidemic of this types of scam on the Internet. In doing so, you help raise the level of protection for all of us.
Ask your friends, relatives, and associates to keep the following tips in mind while on the Internet:
Don’t click links in emails or social networking sites. If they come from a known source, type them on the browser’s address bar. If they come from an untrusted source, simply ignore them.
Don’t open emails that come from untrusted sources.
Don’t run files that you receive via email without making sure of their origin.Keep your computer protected.
Install a security solution and keep it up-to-date.
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Bill Mullins' Weblog - Tech Thoughts 