scams

[CompNut]

Does everyone get potential scam-merchants' messages coming up on their e-mails, or am I just the lucky one?

[dot.hawkes]

i keep getting the barclays bank one and there has been one or two this week using christian names\as though i know them.

[don1]

Best one I've had up to now was from Nigeria, this guy offered me 25% of an �18 million fortune (�4.5 million) and all I had to do was send him �5000 up front.

[Se7en]

African " I'll give you a share of �20m BLAH BLAH BLAH".

Bloke next to me at work gets 3 every day. Dunno how he was targeted. (All them "dodgy" website he goes on I presume!)

He has also had FBI & CIA ones telling him that he has been on dodgy websites funny enough.

[Alan2]

Don't tell me you did'nt send it to him, Don

[don1]

No Alan I was a little suspicious that his motives might not be entirely honourable.

[nickmo]

My fave was the lovely lady in Nigeria (of course) asking if she could buy my chicken farm (how did she know my secret?) and would I send her money to register her interest. Brilliant idea - course I did and am now the proud owner of 930 million chickens in Lagos.....as if....

Have a look at http://www.scambuster419.co.uk/poultrymagnate.htm for how to answer the scams. If you have time, read some of the ongoing communication - they really are a persistent bunch of morons but it beggars belief that people do really send money to them........so who are the idiots, really?

[brachiopod]

Yes I get spam from Barclays and Halifax and the rest - but I don't know the detailsls as I just delete without opening them.

If I don't know the person, or am not expecting the e-mail / subject is blank (or some gobbledegook) then it gets a big X vote and is deleted without reading. I recommend the same treatment by everyone else.

[Toureman]

You should never reply to scam emails telling them to F&$* off because the senders will then know your email address is active and you will get even more!

[andy-hughes]

I've had the Halifax and Barclays ones here at work, and I work for BT. We have some of the most sophisitcated spyware available, which means that these are not supposed to get through, but they do. I am prevented from replying because then our screeing kicks in and identifies them as hoaxes.

As for Se7en's assumption that his friend is targeted because of 'dodgy' surfing - that's not how i was targeted, our censoring software is so sensitive that it kicked me off the net for looking for a site with the word 'adult' in it - I was looking for an adult learning course at my local college!

Ironically, my home e-mail which has a bog-standard free spyware package has never ever been spammed in nearly nine years!

[CT]

Never had any of the banking ones yet, but I've had a few others. I've applied a few filters to my gmail account now and hopefully that'll cut them down. Had some of the African scams at my uni account , but I guess the uni managed to take care of those cos they stopped after my second year.

[CompNut]

Good evening, All,
Thanks for replying - it is comforting to know one is not alone!
dot.hawkes, yes I've had all the banking and building soc. ones too, and their logos are so professional-looking, arent' they, it could fool some I guess.
don1 (Don Juan!) glad you saved your 5 Grand!
Se7en, the wording on the African ones gives 'em away. A Mary Udodo writes it has taken her 4 mouths to contact me 'cos her husband, friend of their King, has been assassinated. She will give me 30% of her $15million fortune, ain't that nice of her!

[CompNut]

continued..
nickmo, thanks for the great website, and don't forget to feed those chickens, they depend on you...!
brachiopod, very wise not to open them. I prefer spam in a sarnie, not being e-mailed to me, but there it goes.
Alan2, have you sent off your 5 Grand yet?
Toureman, yeah, the spammers will get us if we don't watch out. andy-hughes, lucky you not getting the spams at home.We have had hundreds so have now invested in better spyware.
CT, don't go buying any chicken farms, now! Bye everyone.

[smurfchops]

Just had the Nigeria one today, I told him to go away and not bother me again please, but not exactly in those words.

[smurfchops]

Sorry Toureman, pressed the button too quickly and yes, you are right, after I had told him to go away nicely I realised, he will probably contact me again now. Oh well I enjoyed doing it.