I just received a "4-1-9" scam email that was sent to me through my ActiveRain contact form. If I got one, some of you will probably get one as well.
The "4-1-9" scam is also known as the "Nigerian Scam" because many early variations were sent by people claiming to be from Nigeria. The essence of the scam is that a large amount of wealth is being held in a foreign country for some reason and that only your KINDLY intervention can save the day. In exchange for your help, you may be offered A PERCENTAGE of the wealth. The letter usually contains SPELLING ERRORS and includes words that are CAPITALIZED in an almost comical fashion.
Despite their obvious LACK OF SOPHISTICATION, these email scams have reportedly raked in HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS from their unsuspecting victims. Variations on the scam suggest donating the money to a church or charity, so GREED isn't the only motivator, but I've noticed that many of the scams imply that you will be helping to BREAK THE LAW in some way to discourage you from REPORTING the scam later when you don't receive the $8,600,000 (EIGHT MILLION, SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLERS) you were originally promised.
These scams may be the worst type of email fraud, but there are many other email hoaxes based on phony charities (or real charities being abused in phony appeals), phony coupons, phony lotteries, phony missing children (or real children who aren't missing), phony cash giveaways by Bill Gates to test the email network, phony virus warnings, and other types of fraud. At this time of year, you should be particulary wary of any messages pertaining to income taxes.
Any unsolicited email which encourages you to pass it on is probably a scam, even if it was passed to you by a friend or colleague. Any email which discusses money and prizes is probably also a scam. Any email that discusses passwords and identity verification should also be regarded as suspicious. Always type the URL (Example: www.ebay.com) rather than clicking the link included in the email.
Before responding to or forwarding the types of emails described above, please check the "25 Hottest Urban Legends" page at Snopes.com or do a search based on a few key words (Gates, email, dollars) at Google or Yahoo! Check the validity of the message before passing it on to your friends. Obviously you should never email your credit card or bank account information to a stranger, even if the $8,060,000 (EIGHT MILLION, SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLAR) would really help your local church.
If you receive a scam sent through your ActiveRain contact form, as I just did, you can trace the location of the scammer using the IP address in the message.
Here is how you can trace the location of the scammer.
- Go to SamSpade.org.
- Enter the IP Address.
- Click Whois.
SamSpade will tell you who owns the web server for that IP address and where they are located.
If you have any QUESTIONS, please KINDLY contact me RIGHT AWAY!
Thanks and stay safe!
Frank Jewett
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