Wally-world!

Hello readers!

I just got a new scam for ya. Its made out to look like it is from Walmart, however, there are a few things that are little off. I wouldn't say this is a bad site when it comes to quality, because it almost looked legit. The person that designed this did it fairly well to serve its purpose. The email though, well, it was plain and not at all like normal emails sent from the retail giant. My bill statements come with blue boarders full of ads for products in their stores. But this email... take a look:

There is absolutely nothing but a link to a site that makes you take the survey in order to get $150 gift certificate (in the subject line... can't miss it!). The site that hosts the survey is a "3rd party" site. http://jefferson-financialfcu.com/walmart/survey.html (In one single day, its gone from the web.) Anyway, the survey is pretty quick, which isn't usual for Walmart... cause I've received REAL surveys from them... and the ones I normally get are three pages long. By pages, I mean that they put 5 questions then have a "next" button that brings you to the next 5, etc etc. I of course... left mine blank.


After the blank form was submitted, I was brought to this next page... which asked for credit card details? They should only be asking for mailing address... not credit card stuff. If you are a winner of the gift certificate, you will get a mailed certificate, a plastic credit card like gift card mailed, or a confirmation code to redeem your gift cert at a local Walmart store (there is one around every corner like a Starbucks, don't be lazy bums!). Seriously.

As you can see... all my fields are funked up. It took it like it were real information though. Actually, it took a couple tries. It declined sixteen 1's and 123 all over. Once I finally was allowed to submit, I was brought to a VERY sad looking "Thank you" page...

Yeah... After seeing a page like that... You would either think nothing of it if you are really oblivious, or you'd think something was definitely wrong at that point.

I now bring you to the actual Jefferson Financial page that hosted the fake survey. As you can see... there really is nothing to it.

Once you are done with everything, you are brought to another page. This would happen to be the REAL site related to Walmart. Applications for jobs, contact information, corporate details and more will be posted here. Check out the logo change on the top bar, too. All the links on the fake survey site brings you to the real Walmart page.

Needless to say, Walmart took the fake site down immediately.

Hopefully by now, some of you have a better understand on what to look for to protect yourself.

Thanks for reading! Until next scam...

FedChoice gone phishing.

Received yet another email scam. This one was a phishing site for FedChoice.org.

As you can see, this is the email. Plain and very simple. It is easy to mask your email to look like someone else sent it, but you need the right email service to do this with. When I clicked on the link, I was brought to www.fedchoice-profiles.org rather fedchoice.org, which is the correct site.

This is the first page that I was taken to.

"Need assistance logging in?" Sure! But where do I click? Its not a common thing to find great help sometimes... but I didn't think it was that hard to find. Yeah... I entered fake information and was brought to another page that was just areas to fill in personal information, such as full credit card information. Again... asking 16 digits, when some cards are less, depending the company you have the card with. Duh? Why would a company like this need your credit card? They have other means of going through your information in a more secure fashion...


Anyway, being the click happy person I am... I clicked everything! At the top, you'll find two bottons; Help Center and Contact Us. The Help Center link went NO WHERE. The contact page brought me to the page where you need to provide your credit card number and such. The second time, it brought me to the REAL contact page... shown below:
Notice how blue the page looks... and how the layout doesn't look like anything the phishing site shows. The Log-In box at the top... the colorful tabs... the url is simple... There is a lot more presentation to the actual site that has actual content. Remember, amateur phisher-men are not interested in what their site looks like in compared to the real thing... especially if its working for them.

Anyway... Looking back at the page where you submit your card details, etc... you are brought to this page: Again... from gray naked page to colorful and fully dressed page. Major difference between the two. Even if you are colorblind, there is no excuse! Its obvious to see that one site has a lot more going on than the other. Something phishy about it... But I emailed them and asked them what the deal was with their site. Barely 10 minutes later, someone wrote back to warn me it was a phishing attempt and that they were in the process of getting it taken care of.
Very good to know! And was very good response time from who ever wrote me back. :)

Don't answer things with out knowing why that information is necessary. Especially online. Once in a while, there will be actual LIVE HELP and they will get on a call with you... chances are, the caller ID is blocked, but if you have a really good one, it will say the company name. If it doesn't look like something you know, just be cautious about it. If the person asks you a series of questions you know they should have on file already, question them. Chances are, you'll ask them too many questions and they will hang up on you assuming you have figured them out.

Anyway, stay safe everyone. Thanks for viewing.

$650,000 for my friend!

These ones are always interesting to read. If it were me, I think I'd be a little more cautious of who I send $650,000 to... Its not like its only $30 to throw around. And if I was sincerely grateful for someone's efforts, I would at least remember the person's name. Otherwise, in all honesty, I'd be keeping that money. Either that, only $10,000 for that kind of help. That is just me though. Really would depend on what the hell was going on actually. But yeah... to find out people actually fall for this one would truly be shocking... Seriously... when can you remember helping this guy out???
You call the number, you give them your bank information, and they wipe you clean and ruin your credit. The end.

I have an eBay message?

I came across yet another email scam trying to get your information for eBay. I forgot to show the sender details, however, this was sent from "message@message.com" to my work spam mailing list.
Sure this may look like a real eBay.com email, but again... the sender isn't sending from an eBay certified email. And though a skilled artist, I suck at computer art... but I'm confident I can replicate these same details just using the basic paint program that Windows provides.

*** REMEMBER!!!! eBay, PayPal, banks, credit card companies, etc etc... If you have an account with them, THEY KNOW WHO THEIR CLIENTS ARE!

"Dear eBay Member" shouldn't even really be thought about. People need to be more aware of what they are getting themselves into when it comes to their person information and the internet. This is why some sites require that you pick a picture from their selection. So that way, if you don't see the image you selected, you know its not the real deal.
Anyway, breaking down this first image... The logo brought me to the real eBay page. However, when I tried to click on the "Learn More" link, it wasn't a functioning link. It just looked it by color while mousing over didn't change a the mouse icon or a sub-caption of the link or its description.
Other than the eBay sign, the "Respond Now" icon and the links for the "item" are click able. Problem is, they bring you to a fake log in. This example wasn't the greatest idea because the link was already banned. In fact, here are the two pages I was bought to after clicking on it multiple times.

This is the first time I clicked on the "Respond Now" button. I've seen this a lot lately for sites I have to check from affiliates. Notice that the site isn't even an eBay related URL. Its for www.evolv.pl instead. By the way, the .pl at the end of a URL signifies that it is a Polish website. Just like .hk is Hong Kong, .jp is Japan, .uk is United Kingdom, .au is Australia, etcetera.
Click the link at the bottom of the post if you wish to see more URL codes.

After clicking the "Respond Now" button for a second time, this is what I was brought to. The second two links showed the same thing. And its all in Polish.

These are truly simple to avoid... you just have to learn to pay attention to what you are doing.
If you are interested in viewing more URL codes like the ones described below the second image, please visit http://www.bitmedia.com/cc/url1.htm.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

PayPal email scam example.

I was going through my email at work and found a good example of the emails scams sent out by different people for PayPal. Here are a few images of them.

This image below shows the actual body of the email from my gmail business account. There is always an option to "show images" when there are embedded items. Either that, it will come up with blank boxes with the small "X" icon showing the image is "broken" or unable to be opened. As you can see, there is nothing. The biggest thing is, the sender email. I visited the site for form-ppl-cmd.com and its nothing but an index with a .php file you can't access remotely. Also, they know your first and last name and they use it... if not that, they use your account name instead of "Dear PayPal member." Come one now... Continuing through the email, it states that you have to download a file and open in your web browser. Then you have to provide some information to restore your account.
Here is the part where some people get screwed... Once you download this file, it brings you to this next image where you have to fill in the *required spaces:

This was the document straight from the email. I used fake information and entered it in. Only thing real is the zip code... frankly there isn't much you can use that isn't real. 12345 is in New York. And the expiration is just a joke... 12/2012... expected end of the world? Yeah, a bit much, but I went there. Anyway, when you have to enter in security details as such, normally they make you CALL a number or LOG IN to your account before proceeding, but this just asks for your details immediately after you open the doc. And not all PayPal accounts are opened with credit cards. It can be opened with any bank account as well. And not all cards have 16 digits. American Express would be one. And I am sure there are some people that fall for this all the time too! After you submit, it bring you to a paypal page, which still isn't a good idea to use after the redirect from the other form. Its just out of context to get the option to log in to your account AFTER submitting that information... Very very fishy, don't you think? Unfortunately, some people didn't think it was odd at all until it was too late.

If you get any emails that ask for your information, whether it be PayPal, credit card companies, banks, or anything for that matter, make sure the sender's email matches. Even this can be a problem, so visit the website and get a telephone number to just call it in. Sure the service sucks and you end up having to wait nearly an hour before helped, but this is definitely better than talking with someone you think is real and your life is ruined the next day. Always ask questions to why they are contacting you and what the problem is exactly. Don't give vital information out such as credit cards, full social security numbers, or anything like that. All they will need is your email verification, full name, and sometimes an address depending on the concern. They should already have the rest of the information on hand.

If you ever get one of these emails from PayPal, you can forward the email to spoof@paypal.com and they will take care of the rest. You can also fill in their form to report an actual website for fraud. Check out a website where you have an account and see what they are doing to keep you safe from fraud and identity theft.

Stay safe!

Email Scams

I highly encourage people to take a look at this blog I found. Not exactly a rent scam... but perhaps something a little worse. Email scams. Everybody has one and everybody goes through and reads/keeps what might be important.
This blog post has pictures that point out different places you should look before downloading anything or sending information out. Very helpful.
Gonna look up more and post links. Scams sucks and people really need to know about them.


http://www.switched.com/2009/10/26/10-ways-to-spot-an-e-mail-scam/

Moving again...

Ugh...
So we are moving again... this time it will be into my boyfriend's father's home that he rents out.
I think all the renting will be done through us... so this will be yet another fun run of scams and such. I will see what happens and keep this updated.

Will be fun...

Rent Scam process.

Yesterday I had received an email from someone and he asked about the rest of the stories behind the reason for posting the emails. Here is my response to his email:

This rental scamming business is serious stuff... It’s best to only accept those who wish to meet you in person and would like to view the available space. You will get more than a Laura Lawson contacting you... believe me. I still have yet to put up the rest of the posts from all of the emails I have received. These people on the other side that make up this make-shift alias really don't care or pay attention to what they read. I was putting up ads on Craig's List to find a place as well and I was contacted by other means of scams I will add to the blog.
The person “interested” in the room you have available will more often than not, be a female ranging from 24-28 years of age. They are a college graduate, usually from Phoenix, AZ, give a brief description about their background and how they are very relaxed, have morals, and respect for those they will live with. They are always traveling to another state or into the states from Canada or Europe. That is how you can identify them. I was rather rude and vulgar to one of the scammers I was following when I wrote the blog entry. At the end of the email, after accusing them of being scammers, I asked “What is the information so I can save the room.” The person instantly responds with more information and then asks you for mailing address, telephone they can call you at, and whether you accept early payment. Early payment will include first month rent AND the flight/moving fees. Usually the whole check is made for $1500 or more. I’ve read several instances where they have scammed $4000 from other unlucky folk.
Once they have all that information from you… they waste the $50.00 to have it mailed to you over-night. They follow up with an email after tracking it to make sure you opened the package. They explain that they want you to deposit/cash the check right away because they need to have their flight booked or money sent for the moving company. That depends on where they say they are from. This is where people really mess up… The checks all look legit… however, if you Google the address, it’s not from the company they say. I’ve had a check from an elementary school in Arkansas after the person claimed it was a modeling company in New York. Only the property number and street address matched up with anything real. People deposit the check forgetting that they need to wait several days for the check to actually be cleared by the bank. Yet the banks will make a credit to the account with the total of the check. A credit is just the credit… not the actual money. So when they finally have the check processed and see that it is a fake, they will withdraw ALL of the money from the credit for that check with absolutely no warning at all. Even it if leaves you in the negatives. The worst part is, they will NOT give the money back because they assume you should know better and be able to identify the check. The common average person does not work at a bank… they are not exposed to such scams… they are only given paychecks from their employers… and most feel their bank will protect them from such things. They don’t.
The scammer will call from Yahoo! Messenger’s voice chat program or something else that keeps their ID a secret. They will claim to be the agency or moving company asking when you will send the payment because they need to book it ASAP. Usually this person is a man. It’s been the same man each of the 4 times I followed a scam. He probably didn’t realize he had called me so many times before because they are so busy running other scams/transactions as well.
When you make the deposit, they call and harass you or send a lot of emails waiting for your response. The second you do, they somewhat hound on you in a semi polite manner to get you to send the money to them ASAP. They request that you send it through Western Union or via Cashier’s check. You keep the said amount for rent and forward the rest of the remaining balance to the addressee that they will provide. It will be another random address. You confirm with them that the payment was sent, and minutes later, they will be there to collect the money. With Western Union, once the money is gone… it is gone. They can only help you to an extent before they request police paperwork for more information.
I came about this scam when I first moved in with my previous roommate, in which I’ll call “Kay” to identify. She turned out to be fraud herself… but that is other drama irrelevant to the subject. Anyway, Kay was contacted by another girl that lived in the states and was looking for a place to live here in CA while she was on a year contract with a film company. The girl said she was going to head to France to help her uncle move because he was going to a nursing home and that she would need the help getting her stuff moved because she wouldn’t have access to American banks and such while out there. She asked that Kay send the money for her furniture and car to arrive to her movers by Western Union to an address in Montana. Kay got the check in the mail, deposited it, then followed up two days later with the bank, seeing that her available balance for the credit was $2300 more than she already had saved. She withdrew $1500 and sent it to the movers in Montana and paid off the rent for the month. She went to make a purchase at the store and was declined. They had removed the pending credit, implemented over drafts fees, and left her with nothing. She opened a case file with the police and found that the payment for Western Union was picked up in San Bernardino, which is only a 1.5 hour drive from our location in great Los Angeles.
It’s unfortunate for those caught up in this mess, but it seems to work well in their favor if they find the right person… and in these days where things are hard, they are thriving on this dirty business.

Please feel free to add to this through comments and such. :)

Remembered.

Wow, so I forgot about this blog while caught in the drama of trying to find a new place to live after finding out the roommate we rented from was only 17, let her dog destroy the carpet throughout entire appartment, and tried to get us on the lease to sign her off.

Thanks to an email from someone looking for a little more detail to the scams at hand, I remembered all about this blog. And thank you, Sweety and JulieG, for posting comments with the emails you received. Much appreciated!

I'll keep up-to-date with more stories!

Spread the word! Make sure your friends and family are aware of these scams if they are looking to rent out their rooms/homes!

Kate Morgan

Email: kismorgan@yahoo.com

Kismorgan@yahoo.com is also same email for Kissy Morgan, another false name. Original email was hacked email. Script change "Send to:" Will not post email for privacy purposes.

IP: 77.220.15.133 - host name is "133-15-220-077.static.iwayafrica.com"

Geographical location: Nairobi, Kenya

Hi there,

My name is Kate Morgan, I am 28 years old and I work full time, Monday through Friday and have weekends off except for once a month. I was born and raised in Fort Atkinson Wisconsin, but presently in Amsterdam Holland on a business trip for more than 10 months.......I am a professional, A Computer Consultant and I deal in various kinds of computer applications and software. I graduated in the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) 4 years ago and I have my B.sc in Computer Science... Please if you don't mind I will like to have answers to the following questions below:

i)I will like to have the rent fee per month plus the utilities.
ii) I will like to have the description of the Place, size, and the equipments in there.
iii) Also I will like to know if there is any garage or parking space cos I will have my own car come over.
iv) I will also be coming with some of my furniture, that is if it is allowed, like bed, book shelf cos I read a lot, shoe rank etc
v) I will also like to know if I can make an advance payment ahead my arrival that will be as a kind of commitment that I am truly coming over and for you to hold the place down for me.
vi) If the #5 questions is YES, I will like to know the total cost for the initial move as in first month rent and if you accept deposit.
vii) I will like to know the major intersection nearest your neighborhood. Like shopping mall, bus line e.t.c

Lastly, I will like to know more about you and also I will like to have your pictures as for me to know how you look like.

Here is all I can say about myself for now.

I am not really a sports person, BUT I do love Hockey Games, I am a very outgoing person and fun to be with. I do play the organ and piano, and I do have BOTH piano and organ here at my house. I am not a drinker and I don't smoke and I don't do drugs. I would also like to go out with you on weekends and weeknights when I am free. I like going to movies, concerts, plays, I like camping, hiking, bike riding, swimming, and I love to travel.

I am a very dedicated individual who is totally committed to human development, friendly, very trustworthy and value relationship above anything. I am a laid back person, I love traveling, sporting and Enjoy meeting people around the world. I am an easy going person and look forward to meet kind hearted, loving and caring person that is very responsible and understanding, someone I can really get along with. I will take my time to get you one of my pictures in my next mail for you to know how I look like, I am sure you will like me..

I am presently in Amsterdam Holland and I will be moving to USA fully to live for the rest of my life and start a new life and set up my own business as a Computer Consultant ( I have my resume). I will be staying in your Place as long as the lease is drawn.

I should be returning to America on before March 30th 2009

I need answers to my 8 questions above as soon as possible so as to arrange for you to get the money prior for my arrival to retain and consider the place is mine.. I will be making this advance payment ahead my arrival so that you can be rest assured that this is real since I am not in the state presently. If you think.

pls i will need a picture if available.....

I will be a good applicant to you and you are interested in renting the place to me

Thanks and have a good time.

Warmest Regards,

Kate Morgan.

Julie Harbur

Email: julie.126@hotmail.com
IP: Traced but disclosed to FBI investigators only.

Hi,

How are you doing? Guess fine I presume. Am writing you in regards to your advert on Craigslist.com and I'm interested in your room apartment, Am from Australia and I will be having some seminars coming up soon in US. Right now am working for a Non Government Organization on a program on children with orphans and heart related probs.

My next program/seminars will be in US and I will need a room to stay for these seminars, so I want to secure a room before my arrival to the states. I can't wait to arrive to US cause I’ve heard a lot about US.Moreso I will be staying for the period of 12-13 months h, Pls do get back to me with the room description, move in rent fees for the first month, Utilities and deposit if included. And if any picture of the room is available, kindly attach it with your reply please.

Hope to read from you. Have a wonderful and productive day.

Kindest Regards.


Julie..

Laura Lawson

Email: lauraluv008@gmail.com
aburem2006@yahoo.com
kingahmeds2003@yahoo.com
IP: 41.219.228.189 - host name is "dial-pool67.lg.starcomms.net"
Geo-Location Information: Lagos, Nigeria

Hello,
I saw your Room advert on craigslist and am interested in it.Below are some about myself and things i'll like to know about the room.I'm Laura Lawson 28 years old,I work as writer and am a visual artist,I am a quiet person and can get along well with any body,i am coming over alone,with no family or pets,i do not smoke and i drink very lightly. i based in London United Kingdom but I want to relocating back to the United States.while am curently in West Africa from my office and, i have finish the work here so am about coming back to state as soon as possble.Consequent to this and in order to make settling easier and quicker also looking forward to have my Master degree in a good university around there.I am searching for accommodation early and i saw your add on this craigslist and i want to make a reservation for your place. However i will like to know this details below.
[1)the maximum lease period available,exact amount of payment per
month
(2)deposit fee applicable........
(3) method of payment and other utilities I will be expecting
your reply as soon as possible, Hope to hear from
you soon.
Thanks,
Laura Lawson..

Catherine Silva

Email: catherinesilva2020@yahoo.com
IP: 41.219.211.138 - host name "dial-pool50.lg.starcomms.net"
Geo-Location Information: Lagos, Nigeria

Hi,
I was fortunate to see your advert on craigslist and i must confess that it was really interesting. I am interested in renting your room for about 6 months to 1 year starting from April 2009. My name is Catherine Silva and i am a female caucasian and a native of york in Pennsylvania. I am a pharmacist by profession. I will be paying with US cashiers check.Please let me know how much money i am to pay in order to move in. I am anxiously waiting for a reply from you,thanxs and God bless you.
Regards,
Catherine

Renters beware!

Trying to rent out a room? Adverts posted on Craig's List might have been hit with scammers. Even when you post all the details... they still ask the questions that have been answered. All the stories are the same... "I'm so and so. I am a quite person and do not interfere with other peoples matters. I currently live in London and will be moving to the states to do research for my agency. Blah blah blah..." Yeah... but no.
The girl we rented from walked into that one without thinking about it. Her story was from a girl that lived in Idaho. The "woman's" company would be paying for her move, but she was going to go to France to take care of her sick uncle first. She explained the company would send our former roommate a check for the said amount with additional to help pay for her travel expenses. The check was well tracked and the roommate got a call from a man that claimed to be the uncle. He asked about the check and said that it will need to be sent via Western Union to the travel agent that is going to take care of the travel plans. Trusting to the needs, she withdrew the amount requested and sent it out. A day later, the woman emailed our roommate and said she received everything, thanked her, and said she couldn't wait to meet us. Just short of a week later, our roommate was declinded a transaction from the bank and found she was well over $2,000 in the negatives. She called in scared and it was then, she learned she had been had.
If it is too good to be true, it really is...
I'll be looking up IP addresses and posting details. It sucks that this is a VERY common thing... and I'm curious to know how many people fell for it...