Spammers, Miscreants, Scammers, Etc

Grok Headline matches for Spammers, Miscreants, Scammers, Etc

Scammers Setting Up Do Not Email Lists
To Give To Spammers

Scammers Setting Up Do Not Email Lists
To Give To Spammers 07/13/2004 12:12 PM
The latest trick in collecting email addresses for spammers is to set up a fake "Do Not Email" list, which collects email addresses (sometimes for a fee), puts them in a list, and sends them off to spammers. Even if they actually do have good intentions (unlikely), there's obviously no enforcement, so any such list is clearly going to be used to send more spam. Makes you wonder who actually signs up for such lists in the first place.

One Giant leap for Miscreants

One Giant leap for Miscreants 12/30/2003 01:23 AM
I have added a New Category “Rumblings from the Underground” for this and future articles: --BEGIN ARTICLE-- One thing seems to drive the Internet more than anything… MONEY. Although this statement is true with almost anything, it is a major...

Traffic Miscreants Learn Laws with Their
Feet (Reuters)

Traffic Miscreants Learn Laws with Their
Feet (Reuters) 07/19/2004 09:33 AM
Reuters - Police in the crime-ridden Colombian city of Medellin are making miscreant motorcyclists study traffic laws with their feet.

Referer spammers are comment spammers
too

Referer spammers are comment spammers
too 02/01/2005 10:08 PM
Is there a connection between referer spamming tools such as Reffy, and mass comment spamming in Movable Type?

More Spammers Threatening To Sue
Anti-Spammers

More Spammers Threatening To Sue
Anti-Spammers 06/11/2004 12:55 PM
It looks like the various spam laws that help legalize spam are making the spammers extra litigious. Following a lawsuit in the US by a spammer against an anti-spam operation for still block their email, some spammers in the UK are threatening Spamhaus with lawsuits for still having them on their blacklist. The problem is that, just because the law now gives them the permission to spam, it doesn't mean people aren't allowed to make their own private efforts to block them. The laws may allow them to send their spam, but there's nothing in these laws that require people to receive it.

Scammers Going To Jail

Scammers Going To Jail 05/18/2004 11:52 AM
It looks like some internet scammers are finally getting some serious jailtime. A man who was caught running a phishing scam has just been sentenced to 46 months in prison. Meanwhile, the guy who conned lots of Wall Street insiders out of half a million dollars by telling them he was sellin g pre-IPO shares in Google has entered a guilty plea in the case, and now faces 51 to 63 months in jail. I have no problem putting such obvious scammers in jail for breaking the law. I do wonder, however, if the punishment really fits the crime.

HotJobs For Scammers!

HotJobs For Scammers! 05/17/2004 04:36 AM
We first posted about scammers (often those same Eastern European organized crime groups who are having so much fun with spam and phishing operations) using job boards like Monster and HotJobs to recruit suckers to launder money for them a year ago. Now, however, the NY Times has picked up on the story and it looks like (as these things are known to do) the scam has changed a bit. Last year, the scammers would hire unsuspecting rubes to ship packages to Eastern Europe. They would claim to be a shipping company that was hiring people in the US in their spare time to pass on the packages. Lots of people fell for it. The latest trick, though, is for the scammers to claim to be software companies in Eastern Europe looking to accept payments from US customers - and thus, in need of someone in the US to handle their "payment processing." They post these ads on the job boards and when people answer them, they're expected to receive payments into their personal PayPal account and then send the money to Eastern Europe. Of course, what happens is that PayPal/eBay eventually notices an awful lot of money going into this account and is alerted that it's from stolen credit cards. The sucker who's been passing on the money is told they need to pay it back to PayPal while the folks in Eastern Europe invest in more ads on these job boards. The article mostly focuses on the fact that those tricked are angry at the job websites for not protecting them against such frauds. Some are worried that these types of frauds may end up damaging the reputations of the job sites. While that is a risk, I still can't believe anyone would ever agree to process payments into their personal account and send it on to Eastern Europe without suspecting something was not right.

New IE bug may be scammers best friend

New IE bug may be scammers best friend 12/10/2003 01:13 AM
ZDNet Australia Dec 10 2003 0:24AM ET

16 scammers fined £1.3m

16 scammers fined £1.3m 04/01/2005 11:17 AM
Premium rate watchdog acts

Microsoft goes after Scammers

Microsoft goes after Scammers 04/03/2005 03:56 PM
About Apr 3 2005 7:45PM GMT

BT cuts off dialler scammers

BT cuts off dialler scammers 06/30/2004 11:09 AM
Pull the plug first, ask questions later...

Baiting 419 Scammers For Sport

Baiting 419 Scammers For Sport 11/17/2003 04:17 AM
There have been an increasing number of "filler" stories from reporters who need something to write about and notice a 419 scam email in their inbox and decide to write the scammer back. Either these reporters don't realize that this article has been written 100 times before, or they just don't care. However, a group of other folks have decided that instead of using the experience to write up an article, they're going to do their best to publicly humiliate 419 scammers. It's turned into something of a sport for many - who create elaborate personas and stories in order to scam the 419ers themselves. Of course, they're trying to trick them out of their dignity, rather than their money.

Scammers use Gmail invit

Scammers use Gmail invit 09/15/2004 02:59 PM
Techzonez Sep 15 2004 6:44PM GMT

More on Scammers Abusing TTY Services

More on Scammers Abusing TTY Services 04/15/2004 01:00 PM

Text scammers fined £450,000

Text scammers fined £450,000 05/24/2004 10:32 AM
'Justice has been done' says UK e-minister

Nigerian Scammers get Busted

Nigerian Scammers get Busted 07/01/2004 01:58 AM
According to ABC News, the old Nigerian money scam is alive and well. Even with a major raid by the Nigerian government, there are still Nigerian “Kingpins that remain untouchable. The best defense against this sort of scam is in my opinion, a combination of common sense and education on the subject.

Artists Against 419 Takes On Scammers

Artists Against 419 Takes On Scammers 05/02/2004 07:46 PM

Microsoft Sues 117 Scammers

Microsoft Sues 117 Scammers 04/02/2005 08:31 PM
CIO Today Apr 3 2005 12:49AM GMT

Nigeria Arrests 419 Scammers

Nigeria Arrests 419 Scammers 07/06/2004 01:42 PM

Nigeria arrests 500 suspected email scammers: Nigeria finally took some action on 419 scammers. I hereby retract this post.

Nigeria's agency against economic and financial crime said Monday that it had detained more than 500 suspects and seized property worth more than $US500 million from suspected fraudsters.

[...] The EFCC had demonstrated its resolve and commitment by arresting many previously "untouchable 419 kingpins", said Ribadu, a former senior police intelligence officer.

Although the identities of those in EFCC custody are not formally revealed, observers noted that they included legislators, lawyers, politicians, bankers and public functionaries.

A couple points to note here. First, look at the type of people arrested: lawyers, legislators (!), politicians, etc. Nice. Second, they seized $500 million? 419 scamming was evidently going well for these folks.

Click here to comment on this entry

Protecting yourself against moving
company scammers

Protecting yourself against moving
company scammers 06/24/2005 06:20 PM
Mark Frauenfelder: More than a few people I know have told me horror stories about moving companies ripping them off when they've moved to a new house or apartment. Their stories are similar: the moving company loads your stuff on the truck(s) and then it tells you to pay a lot more money than the written estimate. Movingscam.com is an information clearing house about moving company scammers, with tips for finding honest movers.

One thing I should point out, is that the bids from these companies that I have seen often quote you by cubic footage not by weight. If you get a quote that is priced by cubic footage, that should raise a red flag right away. The reason for this is that if they charge you by weight, they have to provide proof of the weight of your belongings at no charge to you. Current laws regarding the moving industry do not cover moves based on cubic feet.

Once the movers show up and most or all of your things are in their truck, they will hit you with the real price of the move. By then it's too late. Your things are on their truck, and they won't get anything off of it without full payment in cash. They will tell you that if you don't pay up, that they will take the truck and sell everything you own to cover the contract. In my case, I put down a $150 deposit, and was told before the movers showed up that the rest of the $1869 would be due on delivery. When the movers showed up, the price jumped to $5012.50, and the movers demanded half of that on the spot or else there wouldn't be a delivery!

Link(via Sensible Erection)

419 scammers start working the phones

419 scammers start working the phones 01/26/2004 08:32 AM
Hello, I'm the Son of the Late Head of State

Software To Catch Nigerian 419 Scammers

Software To Catch Nigerian 419 Scammers 06/07/2004 01:56 PM
If you've ever received an email from Nigeria asking for a small sum of money in order to get millions, you know what the 419 scam is. (Or you're still waiting for a lot of money that hasn't quite shown up yet.) The '419' comes from the Nigerian criminal code section against fraud, and to prevent the scams, Nigeria is looking into using software to help track down the scammers by scanning emails for keywords. This brings up plenty of privacy issues over who determines which keywords are used and what is done with the flagged emails. And while this proposal is probably better than passing a completely new law that would probably be ineffective, the enforcement against this scam may be a bit late as scammers have modified their scams and moved to places other than Nigeria. So scams are here to stay, and although one would hope that public education could take away the incentives for scammers, there's a sucker born every minute.

Ireland Cracks Down on Online Scammers

Ireland Cracks Down on Online Scammers 09/23/2004 05:20 AM

Nigerian Scammers Claim Another Victim

Nigerian Scammers Claim Another Victim 12/24/2003 03:46 PM
A Florida newspaper ran a story yesterday about a local retiree who fell hard for a 419 scam. The story goes into depth on the methods used to play on the ...

Sweet Revenge On Nigerian Scammers

Sweet Revenge On Nigerian Scammers 11/16/2003 03:58 PM

Police warning to internet scammers

Police warning to internet scammers 02/07/2005 02:02 AM
ONE News Feb 7 2005 5:54AM GMT

Scammers target Westpac customers

Scammers target Westpac customers 11/02/2003 10:55 PM
ZDNet Australia Nov 2 2003 9:29PM ET

Online Vigilantes Still Scamming The
Scammers

Online Vigilantes Still Scamming The
Scammers 06/17/2004 07:33 PM
Last summer we wrote about the new "online sport" of spam baiting, where people would bait Nigerian 419 scammers into doing time wasting and embarrassing things partly for fun, and partly to keep them busy from scamming others. It appears that the practice has only grown over time with people spending an awful lot of time trying to mess with scammers. Some have even claimed to have gotten money out of the scammers. What's interesting is that some law enforcement officials are happy with the online vigilantes, since they often provide the detailed info needed to track down the scammers. Others, though, warn that most of the people behind these scams are part of fairly violent organized crime groups, and getting involved with them in any way could be quite dangerous.

Watch out, there be scammers about,
warns watchdog

Watch out, there be scammers about,
warns watchdog 03/23/2005 12:46 PM
If it's too good to be true...

Scammers use Gmail invite as phishing
hook

Scammers use Gmail invite as phishing
hook 09/15/2004 01:41 PM
Fake e-mails sent to Gmail account holders attempt to garner addresses and passwords.

Online Merchants Beat Back Scammers

Online Merchants Beat Back Scammers 09/22/2004 12:08 PM

Other News: Credit Card Scammers Caught

Other News: Credit Card Scammers Caught 07/09/2004 10:12 AM
Apple Security snags a couple of juvenile credit card scammers.

German dialler scammers hijack
signatures

German dialler scammers hijack
signatures 06/30/2004 06:02 AM
The Register Jun 30 2004 9:59AM GMT

Scammers Send Fake Invoices While Bosses
Are Away

Scammers Send Fake Invoices While Bosses
Are Away 06/21/2004 03:59 PM
Apparently, the new popular scam in Europe these days is to send companies fake invoices for accessing internet "directories." The scammers are hoping that with so many people on vacation over the summer, people won't check around carefully, and will simply cut checks. The amounts usually aren't all that high, either, making it less likely that an accounts payable person will carefully check over the invoice. Isn't this why companies use purchase order systems?

Nigerian scammers 'exploit tsunami
tragedy'

Nigerian scammers 'exploit tsunami
tragedy' 01/04/2005 11:30 PM
ZDNet Australia Jan 5 2005 2:46AM GMT

UK Watchdog bites mobile spam scammers

UK Watchdog bites mobile spam scammers 02/19/2004 02:06 PM
Two operations shut down under emergency procedures

Law Professor With Three Doctorates
Tricked By Nigerian Scammers

Law Professor With Three Doctorates
Tricked By Nigerian Scammers 01/06/2005 07:34 PM
If anything is clear, it's that the details of this case are not made clear by the AP article about it. However, it appears that a Miami law professor with three doctorates (they don't say what those doctorates are in) was clearly duped in part of a Nigerian scam. The professor continues to disclaim all responsibility saying he was tricked by "the Nigerian government," when it's pretty clear that the tricking was done by scammers who were probably not associated with the government. It also doesn't explain why the professor didn't question why the Nigerian government apparently needed him to deposit a $1.68 million check into his personal account and wire the money on to them. The guy was obviously suckered by the promise of an easy $200,000 (like all other Nigerian scam victims) and tossed any skepticism right out the window. What's not clear from the article, however, is how this scam really worked. It involves Penske, the trucking company, who apparently sent out a $1.68 million check to buy trucks. It's not clear where that check went. That's not explained. Instead, somehow, somewhere, a new, counterfeit check, in the same amount, went from Penske to this professor, starting the process. Penske is now suing Fleet bank and a credit union for letting this happen -- but there are plenty of other questions about how this all happened in the first place. It sounds like someone took the original check for the trucks and altered it, or copied it, replacing the truck company with the professor. If so, then Penske shouldn't be going after the banks, but whoever altered the check and those who ran the scam.

UK targets scammers in month-long
campaign

UK targets scammers in month-long
campaign 02/01/2005 09:18 PM
Psst...wanna cheap iPod? Legit, honest

Dear New York Craigslist Powerbook
Scammers

Dear New York Craigslist Powerbook
Scammers 05/28/2004 02:09 PM

I hate you.

Signed,

Brokenhearted in Brooklyn

Apple Powerbook G4 17' 1.33Ghz/1Gb/80Gb Hdd/SuperDrive - $1250
Apple Powerbook G4 17' 1.33Ghz/1Gb/80Gb Hdd/SuperDrive - $1250
Apple Powerbook G4 17' 1.33Ghz/1Gb/80Gb Hdd/SuperDrive - $1250

Grok Description matches for Spammers, Miscreants, Scammers, Etc
GrokA matches for Spammers, Miscreants, Scammers, Etc

Spammers, Miscreants, Scammers, Etc

The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: