Issue 11 - Hoax-Slayer Newsletter
Issue 11: February 13th, 2004
This week in Hoax-Slayer:
Hoax-Slayer is a Free Monthly Web-Based Newsletter brought
to you by Brett Christensen The Hoax-Slayer Newsletter keeps you informed about the latest email hoaxes and current Internet scams. Hoax-Slayer also features
anti-spam tips, computer security information, pertinent articles and more.
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Subscription Options in Detail
E-Gold Scam Emails
Electronic currency service, E-Gold, has been the target of
several phishing scams in the past. The Dumaru-Y worm also tries to collect e-gold passwords from infected computers.
One such scam email, sent in HTML format to more easily disguise hyperlinks, tries to trick unwary e-gold customers into providing account details on a bogus website. The email falsely claims that e-gold is running a competition and that the "500th user to login each day automatically wins".
There is no competition, nor would E-Gold ask customers to log on to their accounts via a link in an email.
The E-Gold website has an
information page about these fake emails. The page states in part:
PLEASE BE ADVISED E-GOLD WILL NEVER SEND YOU AN HTML EMAIL WITH A HYPERTEXT LINK ASKING YOU TO CLICK ON THE LINK TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT!
A copy of a current e-gold scam email:
Dear e-gold user
As you may have heard, to celebrate e-golds dominance of the
e-currency market,between now and the 31st of February, the
worlds leading market makers have joined forces togive you the
chance to win $500 worth of e-gold every day! That's right,
every single dayuntil the 31st of February,
one e-gold user is GUARANTEED to win $500 in e-gold!
Simply login to your account and the 500th user to login each day automatically wins!
What's more, every 100th user logging in from the link above will be entered into our "Grand Gold
Super Draw", which will take place on 1 March 2004.
Prizes for the Grand Gold Super Draw are as follows:
1st Prize - $500
2nd Prize - $250
3rd Prize - $100
Terms and conditions of this promotion:
Only one competition entry per user may be made from the above link per 24 hours. Multiple logins within 24 hours from the above link will be declared void. All winners will be
notified via their registered email address within 48 hours of logging in. Deposits will be made
into winners accounts within 5 days of email notification. For the purposes of this promotion, each
day will begin at 0.00 GMT.
A list of all winners will be made available upon request from 3 March 2004.
Tommy Hilfiger Hoax Email
An old hoax email about fashion guru Tommy Hilfiger making racist comments on the Oprah show is still making the rounds in spite of thorough debunking. The hoax email has been circulating
for some years, but still convinces many recipients that
Hilfiger is an outspoken racist.
The information in the email is a completely unfounded rumour.
Long Running Lottery Scam
Note: For comprehensive information about advance fee lottery scams, please refer to:
Email Lottery Scams - International Lottery Scam Information
A Hoax-Slayer site visitor reports getting one of the lottery scams that have been going around for some time.
I have seen a number of variations of this scam that differ mainly in the details such as names and contact information. If gullible people contact the "company" to claim their prize, the scammers try to convince them that they need to pay some sort of administration or legal fee up front in order to collect their winnings.
The one below even claims to be sponsored by Bill Gates!
Of course, there is no "Lottery Winners International" and certainly no prize money. The scammers are the only winners in this scenario.
Dear Internet Explorer User,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners International programs for Internet Explorer Users Worldwide held on the 1/12/2003. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 275114656588-6410 with serial number 5798-510, batch number 466270566, and lottery ref number 6676629735 and drew lucky numbers 8-60-88-23-66-45 which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of US$185, 450.00 (One Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars Only).
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been processed and your money remitted to you. 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 2,000,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world.
This promotional program takes place every three-year period. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Bill Gates, President of Microsoft, the world's largest software company, we hope with part of your winning you will take part in our next year US$5Million international lottery. To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent in Madrid, Spain below;
[CONTACT INFO REMOVED]
Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than 8th of December 2003. After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Yours sincerely,
Elizabeth Liejon
Unsophisticated Yahoo Phishing Scam
The email below was submitted by a site visitor and was also sent to an online forum I visit. It appears to be an extremely crude attempt to steal Yahoo account information. However, the spelling and grammar in the email is so abysmal, that surely even the most gullible of recipients would have cause to doubt its veracity. If the perpetrators are really intent on going into the phishing industry, then they need to substantially improve the bait they are using [grin].
Dear* Y@HOO! Clients,
This EMAI| inform _you_ that Y0UR YAHOO user ID (address removed)
wi|l be blocked _after_ 28 days` (_as_ @FTER autoomateed
reegisttration) 1f _you_ w1ll
_not_ signup _on_ Yahoo wh!te list (_to_ s1gn up - click Here: [link
removed]
Th!s is done - beecause we* update now` _Yahoo_ not autoomateed
reegistered account*s.
KaTZ2F
Bendigo Bank Phishing Scam
Australia's Bendigo Bank is the latest financial institution to be targeted by phishing scammers. Bank customers have received a bogus email that asks them to provide account information via a fake website. The bogus site is designed to resemble the real Bendigo Bank website.
Spam Cop: Report Spammers
If you are sick and tired of spam and would like to do something about it, then you might like to help by reporting spammers at
Spamcop.net. The free, "reporting only", service offered by SpamCop allows you to file a complaint and include copies of spam email via an online form. Reporting spam to SpamCop can help to blacklist the sites responsible for allowing spam to be sent and may result in the spammers losing their ISP accounts.
Spam cop allows you to report spammers quickly and easily. Every little bit helps in the ongoing battle to curtail spam.
Humour: The technology behind Google's great results
Ever wondered how Google manages to find the right results for every query as quickly as it does? Find out the secrets behind
Google technology via the link below:
http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html
The Hoax_Slayer Newsletter is published by:
Brett M.Christensen
Queensland, Australia
All Rights Reserved
©Brett M. Christensen, 2009
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