Jeff Bezos Wants to Give Me Money for Nothing (Apparently)
Wow, lucky me!
Jeff Bezos Charity Giveaway Scam
I feel so lucky! Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos is going to give me $520,000 out of the goodness of his heart! What a kind and thoughtful man!
All I need to do is send him $105 to cover the delivery cost of the ATM card he is giving me.
Alas, on deeper reflection, it’s dawned on me that perhaps the email is not from Jeff at all. Could it be just another advance fee scam designed to trick me into sending my money and personal details to online crooks?
Sadly, yes, the email is indeed a scam.
The scam email attempts to add credibility to the giveaway claim by linking to a 2022 news report in which Bezos claims he intends to give away most of his fortune. But, apparently, the donations “will focus on fighting climate change and ‘division’ in American public life”. Bezos is certainly not sending random strangers large sums of money via unsolicited Gmail messages.
If I were to send the requested fee, I would soon receive further demands for money. The criminals responsible for the scam will claim that these ongoing fees are required to cover legal, insurance, and banking fees or a host of other entirely imaginary expenses. The criminals will claim that, for legal reasons, the fees must be paid before the ATM card is sent and cannot be deducted from the donation amount.
During the process of the scam, the criminals may also trick victims into sending a large amount of personal and financial information, ostensibly to prove their identities and allow the transfer of funds.
Scams like these are very common and use the names of many famous people1 and wealthy philanthropists. Some versions claim to be from the winners of large lottery prizes that have been featured on recent news reports.
For many of us, such fake giveaways may seem easily recognisable as fraudulent. But, many people around the world still fall for advance fee scams every day. If you know people who may be vulnerable to this type of fraud, perhaps take the time to alert them about how such scams work. You may stop a vulnerable person from being victimised and thwart a scammer.
A screenshot of the scam email:
Another version currently being distributed via Facebook claims that Elon Musk is giving people free Teslas.