Beware of Email Scams and ID Theft ploys (Phishing)
It can never be said too often to be aware of scams. Recently, an Oregonian woman was bilked out of $400,000 in the quest for a $20 Million payout. Everyone around her told her it was a scam, but she persisted until she cycled through her family's retirement accounts, she refinanced the family car and their home.
Sample of Nigerian email scam letter:
I am Mr.XXXXXX. an Auditor of a BANK OF THE NORTH INTERNATIONAL,ABUJA (FCT). I have the courage to Crave indulgence for this important business believing that you will never let me down either now or in the future. Some years ago, an American Miningc onsultant/ contractor with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, made a numbered time (fixed)deposit for twelve calendar months, valued $12M.USD (TWELVE MILLION US DOLLARS) in an account. On maturity, The bank sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply.
Sample of Phishing via "Official Bank Email"
Dear BANK client,
Due to the rumors of financial crisis, BANK has decided to make a nationwide survey.
The information collected will be used to improve our services and your banking experience with us. For the completion of this survey, we will credit your account with $100.
To take part, please click here.(Link will take user to bogus site to collect personal information).
Note - The information we gather from this survey will not be handed down to any third party.
PayPal Phishing Scam Sample:
Dear PayPal valued account holder,
We recently noticed one or more attempts to log in your PayPal account from a foreign IP address and we have reasons to believe that your account was hijacked by a third party without your authorization.
If you recently accessed your account while traveling, the log in attempts may have initiated by you.
However if you are the rightful holder of the account, click on the link below and submit, as we try to verify your account.
Please click here (Link will take user to bogus site to collect personal information) to login into your PayPal account and then fill in the required information. This is required for us to continue to offer you a safe and risk free environment.
If you feel you have been a victim of Identity Theft:
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Additional user information may be found via the StopSign KNOWLEDGE BASE.