Feb 5th-12th 2021
We maintain a number of email addresses designed to collect various email scams, in order to see what schemes and tricks crooks are hitting inboxes with.
These are the three that stood out this week.
1. Patrick Mensah and the $7.8 million USD consignment box.
Type of scam: Advance fee scam, 419 scam or “Nigerian” scam
Advance fee fraud is as diverse as it is prolific. But in every case, the crook is relying on you believing that you will get rich if you follow their instructions (instructions that will always, at some point down the line, involve you sending them money first.)
“Patrick” below is informing us that there is a consignment en route to us with a hefty $7.8 million dollars inside. But as you would have it, the agent responsible for delivering it has just apparently lost our address, hence the reason for the email.
We wish to inform you that the diplomatic agent conveying the
consignment box valued the sum of $7.8 Million United States Dollars
misplaced your address and he is currently stranded at your
International airport now. We required you reconfirm the following
information below so that he can deliver your consignment box to you
today.
NAME:==================
COUNTRY:================
CITY:==================
HOME ADDRESS: ===============
MOBILE NO.:=============
NAME OF YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT:========
A COPY OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION :===============
Please do contact the diplomatic agent with the email below with the
information required.
Contact Person : Donald Benson EMAIL;( donaldbensonjr@diplomats.com )
+ 1 217803 8916
He is waiting to hear from you today with the information. NOTE : The
Diplomatic agent does not know that the content of the consignment box
is $7.8 Millions United States Dollars and on no circumstances should
you let him know the content. The consignments was moved from here as
family treasures, so never allow him to open the box.
Invest on elfxtrade.com and get 40% daily profits when you chose the best plan.
Best Regards,
What happens next?
The crooks are hoping that if you’re going to believe that millions of US dollars is currently being transported by a single, apparently somewhat absent-minded courier, they’re also hoping that you’ll believe their follow-up email, which will ask for some type of transportation fee to get the consignment box to you.
Also expect the “agent” in the tale to open the consignment box, find the money, and try and blackmail you into paying a ransom first, as well. Advance fee fraudsters are nothing if imaginative.
2. NHS You’re Eligible for the Vaccine
Type of scam: Phishing email scam
We’ve seen plenty of NHS/Vaccine themed email scams pop-up lately, and this most recent one is another phishing scam aimed at both getting your personal details (for identity fraud) and your payment details (for emptying your bank account.)
Crooks aren’t the type of people to let a global pandemic go to waste, and any chance they get at spinning it to their advantage they’ll take it.
We have identified that you are eligible to apply for your COVID-19 vaccine.
The NHS is performing selections for coronavirus vaccination on the basis of family genetics and medical history.
The NHS will contact you when it’s your turn to have the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination.
You are required to reply to this email within 24 hours of this notification.
If you already have made the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, please select and complete the reject invitation form in order to delist you from the waiting list.
Book your appointment now or Reject invitation
This is an automatically generated email.
Please do not reply as the email address is not monitored for received mail.
Help us help you get the treatment you need
While everyone is being told to stay at home, it can be hard to know what to do if you’re unwell.
For help from a GP – use your GP surgery’s website, use an online service or app, or call the surgery.
For urgent medical help – use the NHS 111 online service, or call 111 if you’re unable to get help online.
For life-threatening emergencies – call 999 for an ambulance.
The email, which contains the NHS logo, also has a link to a spoof website that will claim you need to pay for your vaccine (you don’t.) Then they ask for personal details and financial payment information which is sent to the crooks.
3. Cristy Davis Powerball $70 million winner
Type of scam: Advance fee scam, lottery scam, 419 scam or “Nigerian” scam
In February 2020, Cristy Davis from Michigan won a cool $70 million in the Powerball lottery. That really did happen. But crooks have taken on her identity and used her as bait to scheme victims.
Specifically, that she is giving up her money to strangers on the Internet as an act of good will. Take this email for instance…
Jackpot from the Power ball lottery held on February 12, 2020.
You can verify this by visiting the web pages below
https://www.powerball.com/winner-story/mi-lottery-waterford-woman-wins-70-million-powerball-jackpot
My jackpot win was a gift from God to me and my family.
e>i have decided to donate total sum of $14 million to Help individuals
and charity organization around the world during this difficult time.
Google in alliance with Microsoft and Yahoo has submitted your
“Email” to my request to receive a donation amount of $2,000,000
Please accept this Token as a Gift From me and My Family.
get back to me via email cristyproject@aol.com if you accept my support
Crooks often use the names of real lottery winners as bait and the email even contains a news story about the real Cristy Davis to try and add legitimacy to the ruse. But this is nonetheless another advance fee fraud scam. Reply, and expect a follow-up email to ask you to pay a fee to get your hands on your slice of the Powerball prize.
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Got an email scam that you think stands out from the crowd? We’re looking for contenders! Just forward an email scam – whether it’s phishing, advance fee, malware, spear phishing, romance scam or whatever else – to scam at thatsfake dot com.