May 29th 2007

Craigslist scams

Within an hour of posting a personal mobile smartphone for sale on craigslist a T-Mobile SDA we got a request from a potential non-local buyer wanting to buy the phone.  The first email we received asked for payment method we accepted and some general questions just to make the email sound realistic. 

Since the item was advertised on a local craigslist we did not expect any long distance requests so I was suspicious, but never the less replied that we will accept all basic payment methods including credit cards, etc. 

On Sunday we received a reply asking if we still have the item and would accept a Cashier’s Check from his bank?  He said he wanted to pay this way so that I would ship it the next day to him FedEx and I did not have to wait for it to clear.  Our reply was that we hold all checks 10-days due to fraud and fake checks.  Needless to say we have not heard back from this buyer

.

Scam two with Craigslist, as we are liquidating our inventory and downsizing and moving our store from Second Street to Two Rivers mall, we are selling a ton of item, including a full liquidation from our old store the Relook Nook, so we have larger items including racks and fixtures for sale.  One of the items is a large 3-sided mirror for a retail clothing store, we listed it under furniture.

The next day we receive an email from the buyer

Am Jackson Lapachia, How are you doing today?i saw your advert on the craigslist .I have  interest in buying  any funitures avaliable.  please list out the available  funitures and price,   i just got an apartment and i have to funished it to my tastes that is  why i have to  mail you, i work  in a fabrics company. I will be making a full payment  my exboss is owning me. can you please hold the funitures  for me till i come over .

I am single aged 28 .i am an easy going person, regard  the payment my ex.boss will be issuing  you a  cheque  for the payment is owning me  ($4000 plus ).pls when you get it,you will have to deduct your payment, And you will have to send the balance to my travel agent here in state ... For him to get my  my return ticket prepare for my coming over for the picked up of the funitures . For the payment to be send  i will be needing your Full name, address state,city.zipcode,phone no. so that the check will be issue on you thanks

Please note I did not change any of the spelling to make it seem worse, this is what we got.  Notice he does not say where it is, what he wants, nothing specific about the item for sale, nor does our ad really have furniture, just a mirror and clothing racks.  The item is only $150 but yet he is willing to send us a check for $4k and expect us to send the balance back.  I guess the next answer would be that the balance needs to be wired back to his agent.  The funniest part yet is that my original email back to him includes my signature that has the KGAL logo and talks about the Scambusters Radio show. 

Our concern is how may thousand of these generic emails go out, and worse yet how many reply.  What a quick, fast and amazing way for people to earn a living overseas.

New Yahoo / Skype IM Scam

We have received recently similar scams on both Yahoo IM and Skype. Personally we use Skype for our Biz-2-Biz communication and I use Yahoo for friends.  My business partners are in California and it is easier for us to type back and forth a couple dozen times a day than it is to keep calling each other back and forth, and besides it is free. 

Recently I received a IM from someone we don’t know and is not on our list.  We are easy to find, as it is our business Skype and our name is the same as our company e-Powersellers.  This person had a picture associated with her Skype and she is a lovely woman, or a least a picture of a lovely woman, odds are it is not a woman doing this scam. 

The scam is simple, the person starts out wanting to just be a friend a contact, nothing more, just say hello.  One said they are from Nigeria (warning 1) and the other from the UK.  The UK one was trying to be friendlier, hoping I am single and that she can charm me and befriend me.  Regardless  I wanted to see where this was going as we have fun digging out the scams. 

Sure enough after a few friendly chats hello back and forth and such they ask me for a favor.  Seems their father passed away and has funds tied up in a bank in the USA.  She asked if I have a printer and a bank account, and I assured her I of course did.  She asked is it a big bank or a small bank (what a warning flag this is) so I told her it was a small local community bank, she said good, she does not like big banks.  She is going to send me a file with check forms on them, she wants me to print off the checks and send them out to different people throughout the USA and they will deposit the money in their account, keep a percent and send her the balance and for my help in this I would get a percent as well. 

This is a nice twist on the scam as they don’t even need to post the check, they will find a dupe in the USA to do it for them, and they rake in the cash.  What makes it worse if some patsy falls for it, they are now committing several crimes, some of which are Federal.  I can’t see how the Fed’s would let it slide, as the scam is so transparent.

Brazen, aggressive and out of control these scams are all over the internet and now in our IM’s.  I assume we will be getting them sent as text messages on our mobile phones soon!

Using HIV Research to Scam!

Received an email / letter from a Professor C. Redmond a researcher for HIV immunology from London and the William Harvey Research Institute http://www.whri.qmul.ac.uk/ a very well respected and well funded legitimate organization in the UK.

The letter in a nutshell basically says that they are receiving a lot of donations, some significant and they need a sponsor in the USA to receive the money, deposit it, keep a percent (10%) for themselves and then wire the balance to them in the UK.  Well the William Harvey Research Institute spends 10’s of millions of pounds each year on research and is well funded and of course they need me in Oregon to help them by washing their funds in the USA.

Here is their basic request:

Job Specifics:

1. Collection of Donations / Payments

2. Cashing of Donations / Payments

3. Deduction of commission 10% per donation/payment received

4. Sending cashed donation/payments to the institute following Our Instruction.

5. Keeping Record of each donation / payment received and sent.

But yet there is more, because after two months of good service we will be invited on an all expense paid trip to visit the institute in the UK as a bonus.

The email and host of this scam come though a newly registered website called infodeskonline.net.  We cannot be sure the owner of the site is involved in the scam, but since the website is not yet online and is just a shell it is quite scary.  Here is the info for this domain.

Admin Name........... DEBBIE MARSHALL

Admin Address........ KNOLL DR

Admin Address........ essex

Admin Address........ rm82be

Admin Address........ ln

Admin Address........ GREAT BRITAIN (UK)

Admin Email.......... dejavuchiky@yahoo.com

Admin Phone.......... (044) 7031931662

There is a website that already talks about infodeskonline.net scam and the many scams coming out of this domain. http://www.joewein.de/sw/419domains.htm

An obvious scam, need we say more, you receive bad checks, you deposit the checks, wire the balance out and then in a week or so your account is overdrawn and you lost all your money.    Really sad they are using HIV research as a way to scam people.

Lottery Scam via US Mail

Great, we have listeners, one such listener emailed us about a lottery scam with a twist, they did not get it through email, but it through US Mail.

Here is the email from our listener (names removed)

Hi Craig -

On today's Scambusters segment on KGAL you mentioned the Microsoft lottery scam.  I get those all the time, but yesterday I received one with a twist. This came in the US mail, and it included a cashier’s check for $2500 to pay the taxes on the $250,000 I had won.  

The cashier’s check looks real, down to the watermark and the micro-printing.  The bank it is drawn on is real (M&T Bank) but the branch information does not turn up in Google.  The letter says I need to send the $2500 to an account in London via Western Union to allow the full amount to be released.  It is an interesting twist on the old email scam.

Our listener is right, nicely done, nice looking check and overall a good letter, easy for someone who is not familiar with scams to fall for it.  We have seen similar scams on popular daytime judge shows, where one person who does not have an account asks their friend to cash it for them so they can get their lottery winnings, then the check is bad and the friend has to sue the check recipient for their money back.  A quick end to a friendship and of course we don’t need to mention the check and lottery winnings are all fake.

The listener was nice enough to email us copies of the letter and check and we have uploaded them for your viewing.  Don’t worry we blanked out stuff on the check to make sure no one prints it and uses it.

Letter: http://albanynotary.com/sbtemp/scam1.jpg

Check: http://albanynotary.com/sbtemp/scam2.jpg

6 indicted in ID theft ring

Nice to know at least Colorado is starting to take ID theft Seriously!

By Pierrette J. Shields The Daily Times-Call

http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=16510

A grand jury this week indicted six people accused of running an identification-theft ring targeting Boulder County homes and businesses.

Two of them face more than 100 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

The indictment names 52 victims — 17 people and 35 businesses — throughout the metro area, stemming from the accused ring’s operations from March to October 2006.

All of the suspects have been indicted on suspicion of violating Colorado’s organized crime law.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office in a press release on Tuesday credited the Boulder County District Attorney and Boulder County Sheriff’s offices with helping with the success of the investigation dubbed Operation White Rhino.

“As to the egregiousness of the violations, this case is certainly exceptional,” Attorney General John Suthers said in a prepared statement. Cmdr. Phil West of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the local investigation.

The U.S. Postal Service coordinated with local law enforcement to develop the case, which will be prosecuted in Boulder District Court by the attorney general’s office.

The investigation showed that the suspects stole mail from homes or cars and used the information to make fake identification cards and checks used to buy items at area businesses, according to the attorney general’s office.

A 72-page indictment names Christopher Applegate, 31; Brandy Creal, 25; Christopher “Sam Bam” France, 36; Brian Nicholson, 22; Jessica Prather, 25; and Allyson Turner, 25, as members of the suspected ring.

The North Metro Drug Task Force served a warrant on a Westminster home on Oct. 26, 2006, as part of an investigation into a methamphetamine lab. Officers collected garbage bags full of stolen mail and forged documents, and computer equipment used to forge driver’s licenses, according to the attorney general’s office.

Prather is indicted on charges of violating the state’s organized crime act, conspiracy, possession of ID theft tools, 10 counts of identity theft, two counts of criminal impersonation, four counts of forgery, four counts of theft, and first-degree aggravated motor-vehicle theft. She faces up to 165 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

France is charged with violating the state organized crime act, conspiracy, possession of ID theft tools, two counts of ID theft, two counts of forgery, theft, first- and second-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, first-degree burglary and menacing. He faces up to 1031/2 years if convicted on all counts.

Applegate is charged with violating the state’s organized crime act, conspiracy, possession of ID theft tools, three counts of identity theft, three counts of forgery, and theft. He faces up to 76 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Creal is charged with violating the state’s organized crime act, conspiracy, three counts of identity theft, three counts of forgery, and two counts of theft. She faces up to 63 years if convicted.

Turner is charged with violating the state’s organized crime act, conspiracy, possession of ID theft tools, identity theft, and forgery. She faces a maximum prison term of 60 years.

Nicholson is charged with violating the state organized crime act, identity theft, two counts of forgery, criminal impersonation, and theft. He faces up to 43 years and six months in prison.

Scambusters Tip of the Week

Ton’s of ID theft happens due to people throwing out the pre-approved credit card letters they get in the mail.  It is easy for thieves to steal the mail from your mail box or trash and then redirect the cards to their home.  Once they have that they can start getting other cards and more.  You can now OPT OUT of receiving the pre-approved credit card offers.

Visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com to Opt-Out online or call 1.888.5.OPTOUT

May 15th 2007

Fake eBay Motors Scam

One of our partner’s at our California store in Granada Hills is looking online for a car for her teen daughter and found a very nice Toyota Rav4.  She found this car on Craigslist.  After contacting the seller, the seller replied that he still has the car listed on eBay, but will sell it to her offline.  The car is located in Ireland where is now living.  He must give up the car as it does not meet UK standards and they won’t let him drive it.  He is offering to sell it with FREE shipping anywhere in the USA.  At that point common sense would send anyone running, but of course we are Scambusters so I wanted to play with this person for a while and find out more.

Financial Details:  Selling the car for $6000 (about $8000 less than the car is actually selling for from the real eBay seller).  Offering to ship the car with a $3000 Money Gram wire transfer / deposit.  The wire transfer needs to go to someone in Ireland named “Primo Maldini” yet the seller says his name is Tom Diaz tom_diaz99@yahoo.com.

The scammer tries to give everyone the warm fuzzies by telling them you will buy the item through eBay Motor’s protection plan and sends off a very nice looking form email looking like it comes from an official eBay site, but of course it is not, as there is no plan and no guarantee by eBay that you get any vehicle.

The fake eBay “auction” is still online and perfectly safe to visit to see what a nice job the scammer did for this auction.  The obvious parts missing are the location where you actually bid and/or buy the item.

Fake Auction: http://www.motorslistingebay-carstrucks.com/ToyotaRAV4/ebaymotors/2002ToyotaRAV4.htm

Real Seller and Real Auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200103481096

You can see how easy it is for the scammer to fake the auction.  Of course seeing the URL you can see the car is not on eBay but motorlistingsebay-carstrucks.com a real site, but not related to eBay

The person who owns this domain and hosting this scam is

Domain-Name: motorslistingebay-carstrucks.com

Domain-ID: INT-70202

Domain-Owner: INT-35402

Name: Sebastian Tindall

Address: PO Box 1389

ZIP, Town: 99352 Richland

Country: US

Telephone: +1.5098457092

Fax: -

Email: rodneylanders41@yahoo.com

Remember…

	·         Never buy anything offline / on the side, if going through eBay make sure the items is actually sold on eBay
	·         Never wire transfer money to a non-verifiable company.
	·         If buying a car, use a valid escrow company.
	·         Always check the sites and redirected URLS
	·         Cars worth $16K are not for sale anywhere for $6000
	·         No one takes a Rav 4 to the UK and then ships it back to the USA for FREE
	·         Read and verify everything.
	If the deal is too good to be true, it usually is.

Teenage con artist ignores court's warning

A London teenager convicted of perpetrating an elaborate Internet scam was back in business one day later, a report said Sunday.

The 16-year-old was warned by a London judge last Tuesday that his conviction would likely prompt a jail sentence, but the youth was back online a day later creating a new Internet scam, The Independent reported.

The teen, whose identity was not revealed, had created a profitable Internet fraud when he was only 13 and recently pleaded guilty to numerous fraud charges.

Despite the judge's warning, an official from the Safe Home Ordering Protection Scheme said the teen had attempted to post advertisements for a new fraud the day after his trial.

The teenager's schemes revolve around offering consumers online bargains and never fulfilling purchase agreements.

The boy spent his ill-gotten gains on international travel, horse riding and even prostitutes, the newspaper said.

400 college students now at risk for ID theft

A new employee at Montgomery College accidentally placed a file with 400 student's names and personal information - including social security numbers - in a public server where anyone could access it. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot. The list was up for about a day, and the 400 students whose information was on it have been advised to check their credit reports regularly.

The college was notified of the mistake when a friend of Leah Moody, whose information was on the list, contacted her and told her about the problem with her full name, address, phone numbers, and SSN. Moody then contacted the administration and removed the file. The list had been compiled for graduation certification, so all of the students on it will be graduating next week. As far as the college's administration can tell, the server was only accessed by a few students while the list was up.

Montgomery College has disciplined the new employee and the supervisor. They have also sent a letter to students and parents notifying them of the mistake and instructing them how to prevent identity theft.

Virus Scare – Back Again!

1.      Bad Spelling
2.      Bad Grammar
3.      Bad Information
4.      They ask for our info yet we were chosen, based on what?  An email address?
5.      And the winner is…  They want you to email a Microsoft Company via a Yahoo UK email address!
 
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
BALEY HOUSE, HAR ROAD SUTTON,
GREATER LONDON SM1 4TE.
UNITED KINGDOM.
 
REF NO: YM35447XN
BATCH: YM 09102XN
MICROSOFT E-MAIL LOTTERY PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM
 
Finally, Today, we announce the results  of the MICROSOFT E-MAIL LOTTERY DRAWS held on April 24, 2007. Your  E-mail address attached to winning number YM09788, With serial number 647489, consequently won in the Tenth category. Since the draw  was conducted through zonal batching of the emails sampled, and the globe was divided, in this instance, into two zones, You are hereby notified that your winning falls under Europe Zone, and hence you are to be paid by our European Payment Centre.
 
You have been approved for lump sums pay out of £500,000 British Pounds Sterling  in Certified Cheque Credited to File REF NO:
MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number YM09788 Selection process was carried out through random sampling in our computerized E-mail selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 1,000,000 E-mail addresses drawn from all the continents of the world.
 
The online draws was conducted by a random selection of E-mail addresses from 29,031 lists of E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. No ticket were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation. This is to encourage our prominent Microsoft Internet Explorer users all over the world, and for the  Continuing use of E-mail facilities.
 
Your fund has been insured with your REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number YM09788 To claim your winning prize, You are to contact the Fudiciary agent below:
 
Name: Mr.Alan Stubs E-mail Address: ukclaimsdepartments4@yahoo.com.hk Contact Number: +447024063995 +447031836648
 
In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with your claims officer. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your winning serial, and file reference numbers. (This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained)
 
NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO INCLUDE ALL THE DATA BELOW WHEN CONTACTING THE PAYMENT AGENT:
 
1.Full Name:.....................................................
 
2.Address:......................................................
 
3.Nationality:..................................................
 
4.Sex:..........................................................
 
5.Age:...................... Date of Birth:...................
 
6.Occupation:.............................................
 
7.Home Tel:..........
Mobile Tel:................Fax:.................
 
8.State of Origin:.....................Country:.......................
 
9 Your File Ref No: ........................................
 
10. Indicate the zone where your winning falls.....
 
 Dr.MONICA SHAGAYA
 Online Co-ordinator
 
 
__________________________________________________________
 
                           Note:
Do not reply this mail, You are to contact Affiliate Payment Agency  in charge of the delivery of your Cheque immediately by E-mail. Microsoft Electronic Mail Lottery is approved and Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR)
 

One of the worst PayPal phishes ever!

Usually the scammer is willing to go through the effort of creating a realistic looking PayPal email and mask the URL / Link, but this scammer I think was just totally lazy and figured maybe one person with bad vision may fall for it.

VeRO NOTICE: eBay Listing(s) Removed - User Suspension - VeRO Program

**PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT EMAIL REGARDING YOUR LISTING(S)**

We would like to let you know that we removed your listing: http;//listings.ebay.com/dahlw0QQfrom4QQsacategoryZQsocmdbLis2247565647  (Bad link, Bad Code, Bad Item Number, Semicolon and not a full colon in the URL)  because the intellectual property rights owner notified us, under penalty of perjury, that your listing or the item itself infringes their copyright, trademark, or other rights.

(All VeRO notices will contain the information to who the IP owner is, and how to contact them via phone or email)

We have temporarily suspended activity on your account in order  to allow us to investigate this matter further. If you believe that this action may have been taken in error, or, if you feel that your account may have  been tampered with, please contact our Live Help team so that we can provide additional information and work with you to resolve this issue.

We have credited any associated fees to your account.  We have also notified the bidders that the listing(s) was removed, and that they are not obligated to complete the transaction.

If you believe your listing was ended in error, or have questions regarding the removal of this listing, please click here or contact the intellectual property rights owner directly at: Entertainment Software Association  eBay is available to answer questions, but since it is the rights owner that requested the removal of your listing(s), we encourage you to contact them first.

For more information on eBay's cooperation with rights owners through the VeRO Program, and a list of rights owners that have created About Me pages, please visit:

 http;//pages.ebay.com/vero-removed-listing.html
 http;//pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.html

Thank you for your cooperation.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

Not a good fake email, contains no specific information and the link of course (when valid) took you to a fake eBay page, for signing in and phishing for your eBay password.

May 01, 2007

Scambusters saves another location listener from losing thousands in internet fraud!

Listener emailed us at noscams@kgal.com with a quandary.  They are selling a vehicle online and received an offer from an overseas buyer to purchase their vehicle.  The buyer wants to send a check for the car, but wanted to send extra so that the seller can cash the check and wire the balance to the company who will be shipping the car to the buyer overseas.

Classic overpayment scam, with the check turning out to be a fake 7-10 days done the road.  The seller would lose the wired difference and have to repay it back to the bank.  The amount would most likely be around $2500 or $3000, but that is a large chuck of change for any of us to lose. 

Based on the emails and documentation we were shown by the listener there were other clues, but the scam is a common one and luckily a prevented one.

13 People Indicted in $3M Credit Card Fraud.

What happens when waiters in 40 restaurants over 5 states steal your credit card information?  Answer is 3-Million Dollars in fraud and ID theft.  The ringleaders of this fraud paid waiters and waitresses $35 to $50 for complete credit card information from their guests.  Suspects then created high-quality counterfeit credit cards

The credit card account information was stolen from customers who visited restaurants in Manhattan's Chinatown and other parts of the New York metropolitan area, as well eateries in Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Some members of the group stole customers' information; some made the counterfeit cards; others shopped for merchandise; and finally someone bought the goods for cash, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

Morgenthau said 12 of the 13 people indicted are in custody and are expected to be arraigned Monday. All the defendants are being charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, punishable by up to four years in prison. Seven are also being charged with second-degree grand larceny, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years.

The district attorney said conspiracy leaders recruited and managed people who worked as waiters and provided them with small, hand-held "skimmers" that read and recorded information on the magnetic strips of patrons' credit cards.  This fraud has been ongoing since 2005.

198 Million In Fraud Reported in 2006

Internet auction fraud was by far the most reported offense, comprising 44.9 percent of referred complaints. The "average" complainant was a man between 30 and 40 living in California, Texas, Florida, or New York. Of those individuals who reported a dollar loss, the highest median losses were found among Nìgerïan letter fraud ($5,100), check fraud ($3,744), and other investment fraud ($2,694).

Nearly 74 percent of the complaints said they were contacted through e-mail, and 36 percent complained of fraud through Web sites, highlighting the anonymous nature of the Web.

Three-quarters of the perpetrators were men. Nearly 61 percent lived in the U.S., with half in one of seven states. Other top countries included the U.K., Nigeria, Canada, Romania, and Italy. It is increasingly an international epidemic; one account of a recent arrest of eight Nigerians in Ghana also shares emails from those duped. In Bulgaria, with the help of the US Secret Service, a ring was uncovered which scammed over $100,000 from US citizens over the internet and was also engaged in money laundering.

Police probe report of N.L. internet fraud scam

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is investigating a report that an internet fraud and identity theft scam was being run out of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As part of the probe, Economic Crime Unit and West District Patrol officers searched a residence in Conception Bay South on April 2. Computers and related equipment were seized, police said, but no charges have been laid.

The investigation began in January, after police in Toledo, Wash., contacted the RNC about local teacher Jay Reimer, who said he had $1,700 siphoned from his credit card after responding to an e-mail in the fall of 2006.

The e-mail included a link to what he thought was the PayPal website, a service for making purchases on the internet, and told him to "update" what he thought was his PayPal account, he said.

The link "took me to a website which took my name, my driver's license number, my credit card number, my social security number," Reimer said.

But days after Reimer visited the site and entered his personal information, his credit card company called to ask him about unusual cash advances to the tune of $1,700.

The Toledo police believe Reimer was a victim of a scam known as "phishing," where websites are set up to look like credible sites but in fact steal personal information. They also believe the scam was based in Newfoundland.

"I constantly get reminders from my IT specialists at work: 'Don't answer these e-mails, there's a thing called phishing,' " Reimer said.  "I have received them repeatedly and yet I did exactly what the phishers anticipated and I swallowed the bait."

Reimer said he was lucky — his credit card company absorbed the $1,700 loss.

One tenth of UK consumers become victim of Internet fraud

UK consumers that think that banks and financial bodies are looking after their financial data and security online need to think again. Figures from Get Safe Online Campaign reveal that one in ten people in the UK have been the victims of online fraud, and each victim has lost an average of around £875 as a result of this fraud.

Internet spending in the UK has rocketed to thirty billion pounds a year, reflecting just how much confidence UK consumers have when it comes to making online transactions, despite the various warnings about possible fraudulent activity.

However, the survey also revealed that many of the people that spend online assume that banks and financial bodies are able to look after their financial security and safely online, which is not actually the case. It is up to the consumer to be more vigilant about security when making online transactions, and in some cases, such as with credit card fraud, some consumers may find that they are unable to recoup the costs of the fraudulent activity.

The Get Safe Online director, Tony Neate, stated: "The internet now is the real world. "We don't blame the police when we get burgled and we must take responsibility for what we do online in the same way we do for securing our houses and cars."

Nearly fifty percent of the people that were surveyed said that they did not have any basic security facilities such as spyware software. Many have also admitted to neglecting to use basic security procedures and checks, all of which can increase the chances of becoming a victim of online fraud.

Woman Sentenced to 55 Months in eBay Scam

Rachel Reyes, a 29 y/o woman from Williamsburg Virginia as sentenced to 55 months and prison, 3-years of supervised release and was ordered to pay over $400K in restitution.  Ms. Reyes, was part of a crime ring selling and distributing fraudulent celebrity memorabilia items on eBay.  The US District Attorney, Chuck Rosenberg, for the Eastern District of Virginia; and, Cassandra M. Chandler, Special Agent in Charge, Norfolk Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after Reyes’ sentencing today before United States District Judge Walter D. Kelley, Jr.

According to court documents, Rachel Reyes, her husband Jeffrey Reyes, and her mother, Nancy Selisker, operated their own eBay accounts for the sale of the counterfeit memorabilia, which included record albums and photographs of celebrities with forged signatures. To conduct the fraud scheme, the three defendants purchased unsigned memorabilia from various locations in Virginia, and then forged celebrity signatures on those items. The items subsequently posted the items for auction on eBay's Internet website. The listings falsely described these items as authentic and offered fraudulent certificates of authenticity.

From July 5, 2002 through March 11, 2005, Rachel Reyes personally completed 5,265 sales of memorabilia with forged signatures to 3,359 victims, with losses totaling approximately $314,773.97. From July 21, 2003 through March 11, 2005.  Cohort in crime Selisker personally completed 1,620 sales of memorabilia with forged signatures to 1,104 victims, with losses totaling approximately $118,114.07. From August 10, 2002 through March 11, 2005 and third person Jeffrey Reyes completed 1,317 sales of memorabilia with forged signatures to 1,124 victims, totaling approximately $130,520.72. Victims were located throughout all 50 states of the United States as well as 33 other countries.

On March 26, 2007, Jeffrey Reyes, age 30, of Williamsburg, Virginia, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $98, 948.94 in restitution for his role in the scheme. Selisker is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2007.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. eBay also provided assistance during the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Gill and Brian Samuels prosecuted the case for the United States.

Feds: ID theft ring run from prison

A man in prison for identity theft is accused of running a similar operation from behind bars, with an Emmy award-winning television producer and animator among the victims.

In a federal complaint filed Tuesday, investigators said Morocco Curry and three co-conspirators outside prison used stolen account information to request replacements for "lost" credit cards and to open new accounts.

Curry, 34, is accused of using a prison phone to make collect calls to his associates. Authorities say the group bilked tens of thousands of dollars from companies, including American Express, beginning in December.

Gabor Csupo, 54, who helped create the children's animated program "Rugrats" and has worked on "The Simpsons," was among those targeted, authorities said. Csupo won Emmys for his work on both cartoons.

Curry; Vanieca D. Samuels, 39; Brenda K. Butler, 47; and Tracy Chambers, 34, each face charges of felony identity theft. The crime carries a penalty of two years in prison.

Curry will be transferred to federal custody this summer, Mrozek said. He is serving a three-year sentence for identity theft at Centinela prison in Imperial County.

Member of Transnational Crime Ring Arrested In eBay Fraud

Bulgarian woman faces 30 years in prison for allegedly conspiring in an "elaborate scheme" to defraud eBay users of $350,000.

A woman described by the FBI as a Bulgarian member of a transnational criminal ring has been arrested in connection with what the government is calling an "elaborate scheme" to defraud eBay users of more than $350,000.

Mariyana Feliksova Lozanova is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The woman, who also goes by the names Gentiane La France and Naomi Elizabeth DeBont, allegedly tricked prospective buyers on eBay to wire her money for major purchases, like motor vehicles and boats, that were never delivered, according to a release from the FBI, which investigated the case.

If convicted, the woman faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and 10 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy. In addition, she also could be required to pay fines totaling more than $500,000, as well as forfeitures and restitution to the victims of the scheme.

A grand jury in the District of Columbia returned the indictment March 1, but it remained sealed until Lozanova was arrested in Budapest on March 22. She has waived extradition to stand trial in the United States.

According to the FBI, Lozanova and others in the "crime group" allegedly participated in a scheme to advertise the expensive merchandise for sale on eBay. When potential buyers from the United States showed an interest, they were contacted directly by e-mail from the purported seller. The victims were then instructed to wire transfer payments through eBay Secure Traders, which has no actual affiliation with eBay. The FBI contends it was a ruse to persuade the victims that they were sending money into a secure escrow account pending delivery and inspection of their purchases. Instead, the victims' funds were allegedly wired directly into one of several bank accounts, controlled by Lozanova and her co-conspirators, in Hungary or Slovakia.

The cars and boats the victims intended to purchase were never delivered and the victims' money was never returned. Lozanova allegedly withdrew the proceeds shortly after the funds had been wired into her account and distributed them to other members of the criminal group in Budapest, according to the FBI statement.

Lozanova allegedly opened the accounts using a fraudulent Canadian passport and a U.K. passport, which falsely identified her as Gentiane LaFrance and Elizabeth Naomi DeBont, respectively, the FBI reported.

"This arrest is an excellent example of the strong cooperation between the FBI and Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation to stem Eurasian organized crime," FBI Assistant Director Chip Burrus said in a written statement. "Since April 2000, the FBI-HNBI Organized Crime Task Force has worked closely to investigate transnational enterprises headquartered in this historic Central European center of commerce and finance."

The Budapest Task Force was established by the FBI in April 2000 in an effort to deal with the increasing threat of Eurasian organized crime groups to the United States.

WINNING NOTIFICATION (Your email have won £250,000.00)

This is a really sad attempt, even in the title they don’t know enough to put my email in place.   Other obvious things are the use of French words in a British Lottery.  The other is the horrendous formatting and use of words, language and grammar. 

The main trick is they try to make you believe it is real by sending you to the real UK Lottery website, but of course wants you to email them at a free Yahoo email address.

We are pleased to inform you of the final announcement of the UK National Lottery Online thunderball Programme with draw numbers(#644)02,05,07,20,31,10 held on tuesday 17 April,2007.

Do endeavour to contact:Rev. John smith provide details for filing of claims.

Email:mail_thunderball@yahoo.co.uk

Email:contact_thunderball@yahoo.co.uk

Bank of America – Quality PHISH

We received a really nice, high quality Bank of America Forged / Phish this week.  This is one of the nicer fakes we seen, the page is different than the real BofA site, but still very good.  It said my account was hacked and I needed to log in and reactivate the account. We played the site for a minute with a user id of “asdfaerewre” and a password of “asfawerewaef” (garble) and of course it let us in as real.  We then filled out the next batch of info..  City of birth, seems I was born in the city of “asdfasl” and my first pet is “asldfkfd” and I graduated from “aslkfaskf asdlflod” high school.  I really wanted to get to the next page where the real trouble happens. 

The amount of information they are asking is staggering and if you were really logged into your real BofA site then the Bank would know this info.  Here is what they are asking.

	·         Bank of America ATM or Check Card Number
	·         Bank of America ATM or Check Card PIN
	·         Re-enter ATM or Check Card Pin:
	·         Exp date:
	·         Card Verification Number:
	·         Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number
	·         Mothers Maiden Name:
	·         Date of birth:
	·         Zip Code:

The site also reminds you that you are on a “Secure” site, when of course you are not on a secure site, so double trouble.  The only typo so far is “mothers” and not “mother’s” for maiden name.  Overall a good website.

The redirect for the fake site takes you to a registered domain of ebankingonlineauthentication. 

Fake site is in China, just registered last month.

	·         Domain Name: EBANKINGONLINEAUTHENTICATION.COM
	·         Registrar: BEIJING INNOVATIVE LINKAGE TECHNOLOGY LTD. DBA DNS.COM.CN
	·         Whois Server: whois.dns.com.cn
	·         Updated Date: 21-mar-2007
	·         Creation Date: 21-mar-2007
	·         Expiration Date: 21-mar-2008

Run far, run fast and watch out for phishing.  Remember, always go to the site direct and never follow the links in the emails.

April 17th 2007

Scambusters Radio Show

Next Show May 1st, 2007

Tax Scams

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday 4/13 warned of Internet scam artists trying to obtain people's bank account numbers and other information by posing as a participant in a program offering free tax preparation software to low- and middle-income taxpayers.

The tax agency said in a statement that the IRS's Web site, http://www.irs.gov/, is the only way to access the Free File program, and that taxpayers should avoid other Web sites claiming to be part of the program.

Even though today is the final day to submit your taxes, please be sure not to fall for this scam.

The tax agency said it was looking into allegations that the bogus Web sites, which were not identified, were accepting tax information from taxpayers, changing the taxpayers' bank account numbers to their own and filing the return through a legitimate Free File partner.

Oprah 4/13 with Brian Ross from 20/20

	USPS Inspectors have stopped over 6 Millions Scams / Fake Checks
	Nigerian Scams & Phishing take the lead on scams. Scammers look for 1% return.
	Not all Nigerian Scams come via email, many come from US Mail or Fax.
	Reverse on the Scam, a leagal form comes in from the Nigerian Government saying that they want to send you $1M due to your loss, but need $4K to process.
	Many of the people scammed are quite smart, intelligent people.
	Fake Lottery Scams
	Fake Oprah Ticket Scams / Contests / Sweepstakes
	Repackage Scams
	eBay Scams

	Many fall for it due to greed, something for nothing.
	Fake scams involving a Solider and Sadam's Money is highlighted
	Scam involving Teri Irwin, widow of the Croc Hunter, name is used in a Scam to move money out of Australia.

Scambusters saves local couple $7000 USD.

Luckily we were here to prevent a local Albany couple from losing $7000 USD on an eBay ATO car scam. The seller (Stolen Account) canceled the auction an contacted all bidders that they car was theirs. They told the buyers that they now live overseas and have no use for the car. The car however is in the USA and is titled in the USA. The buyer needs to wire the full amount to the seller overseas and once received they will release the vehicle and title.

The added "safety-net" to the buyers is they had everything set to be paid and guaranteed through the eBay Auto Buyers Safety program, however there of course is no such service and no protection. Anyone who falls for this deal would lose their money with no resources actually available to assist them retreive any of their wired funds.


2008 ID Changes Coming!

There are three rumours floating around the internet now on Federal ID and Drivers Licenses. The three rumours are...

1. By 2008 Motorists will have to submit to formal identification checks to obtain or renew Drivers Licenses in the USA
A. True, there are changes coming that will require people in the USA to provide more ID when applying for or renewing a drivers license. Items that are listed as accepted IDs include a birth certificate or a US Passport. Other documentation will be required to show that you reside at your listed residence such a utility bills. The original date for this requirement was May 11th 2008, but has been pushed back to December 31st 2008. There are more details regarding this "Real ID Act" that can be found online under the Department of Homland Security page.

2. A unique Federal ID number will be issued to each US DL holder as a unique identifier.
A. False

3. Starting in 2008 when you renew your license a chip will be implanted in motorists hands with all their personal information and Federal ID number.
A. False


Watch out for Notary Scams

Being a Notary myself, I read a lot of trade publications on the happenings on the Notary Community. Before becoming a Notary I was unaware of the likelyhook of Notary Scams, after all, it is seems like such a straight process, however there is no end to the scams surrounding Notary's. I became a Notary because of the natural fit with our Shipping Annex here in Albany, and even more so I am glad I became one as it gave me access to information to makes us better reporters at Scambusters.

The most common scam affects immigrants. In the U.S., there are reports of notaries (or people claiming to be notaries) having taken advantage of the differing roles of notaries in common law and civil law jurisdictions to engage in the unauthorized practice of law. The victims of such scams are typically illegal immigrants from civil law countries who need assistance with, for example, their immigration papers and want to avoid hiring an attorney. Confusion often results from the mistaken premise that a notary public in the United States serves the same function as a Notario Público in Spanish-speaking countries (which are civil law countries, see below). Prosecutions in such cases are difficult, as the victims are often deported and thus unavailable to testify.

The other scams to watch out for, mortage scams, power of attorney scams, insurance scams, wills and trust scams, divorce and custody scams and many more. Please be aware if a document is not properly notarized it is not a legal document and that it may come back later and vactate all value it had when submitted. Please visit our site at http://albanynotary.com for more information and please feel free to contact us for any Notary questions.


Updated 10 Tips to protect your ID

	Keep a list of all credit card and bank account numbers with bank phone numbers so in case of loss or theft they can be notified immediately.
	Use only one credit card for personal expenses and one card for business expenses and monitor accounts online weekly.
	Always send or receive mail only through secure and locked mail boxes.
	Never give out any sensitive information (SSN, Acct #, Pin #, Password Etc) via an email solicitation. Always type in and visit the website directly.
	Limit the information on your checks to your first initial, last name and address (nothing more).
	On all credit cards instead of signing your name write “Check ID!”.
	Never use a debit card or Visa/Master Check card as recovering fraudulently accessed funds from these accounts can be extremely difficult.
	Store all credit cards, bank statements and passports etc in a secure and locked place.
	Never give out your Social Security Number, Drivers License Number or Date Of Birth unless they have just cause and really need it.
	For details about establishing and initial fraud alert on your credit reports visit: www.experian.com, www.equifax.com,  www.transunion.com

Couple caught on 1m ID Theft Scam
New York Post Article by HASANI GITTENS

April 14, 2007 -- A married couple from Brooklyn went from better to worse after getting caught using a Queens man's identity to scam more than $1 million, authorities said yesterday.

Emerick Martin and his wife, Donna, both 42, allegedly obtained more than $1 million in mortgages and applied for a $90,000 loan for a Mercedes-Benz - using a forged driver's license in their victim's name, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

The Bay Ridge couple has been charged with attempted grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, identity theft, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud and unlawful possession of personal identification information.

The DA said the investigation of the Martins began this year when the victim, a 41-year-old man from Rosedale, learned someone was trying to obtain a $180,000 second mortgage on his home.

At the mortgage closing on Jan. 11, the Martins allegedly presented a forged driver's license in the victim's name, supplying paperwork with the Queens man's actual loan number, job information, telephone number and address.

The Martins also allegedly took out two mortgages totaling $1,123,000 on a home in Dix Hills, L.I.

Investigators said that just before Christmas, the Mar tins went to a Jamaica, Queens, auto dealership to buy a 2007 Mercedes S550 for $90,000 using credit in the victim's name.

Again they presented the victim's Social Security number and a forged driver's license, but were denied when the forgery was spotted