2. The type of scam this power point is focusing
on, phishing, is the act of sending an email that falsely
claims to be from a trusted source, in an effort to obtain
your password, personal account information, or simply money.
Criminals hack into someone’s email account, and send fake
emails to everyone in their address book.
The most famous ‚phishers‛ are the mythical Nigerian bank
scams, but there are many others on the loose- here are some
real-life examples of email scams.
Internet scams are
everywhere. If you think
something online is too good
to be true, or seems
suspicious, it is most likely a
scam.
3. Had Bag Stolen in London
Hi, I really don’t mean to inconvenience you right now
but I made a quick trip to London UK this past weekend
and had my bag stolen from me in which contains my
passport ,cash and credit cards. I know this may sound
odd, but it happened very fast. I’ve been to the US
embassy and they’re willing to help me fly without my
passport but I just have to pay for my hotel bills.
Right now I’m out of cash plus i can’t access my bank
without my credit card here, I’ve made contact with them
but they need more verification. I was thinking of asking
you to lend me some funds now and I’ll pay back as soon
as I get home. My flight is in the next few hours.
Please i will need the some of 940 dollars as soon as
possible you can have it wired to my name by western
union to London England,you will email me the mtcn
control number so i can pick the money up.You can reach
me on May-field hotel # [number redacted]. I will be
grateful if you can do this for me.
4. My dear now I that you to see ready to be with me! And as
is ready to help me that we with you to be together.
Now I will give to you data of the agent which your help
through Western Union and by that we to pay my
documents can accept. And As soon as your money to
come, I can receive my documents and go to you!
Here data of the agent!
first name - Aliaksei
last name - Martsinkevich
city - Warsawa
country - Poland
Slepaya street 18b
00-928
5. I’m writing with tears in my eyes, my family and I
came down here to (Buckingham shire) United
Kingdom, for a short vacation unfortunately we were
mugged at the park of the hotel we stayed, all cash
credit cards and cell were stolen off but luckily for
us we still have our passports with us.
I have been to the embassy and the Police here but
they’re not helping issues at all and our flight
leaves pretty soon from now but we’re having problems
settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won’t
let us leave until we settle the bills. Please be so
kind to reply back so I can tell you what to do and
how to get some cash to us. I’m freaked out at the
moment…
Quite a few people fell for this one; one teacher
lost more than $6,000 for this scam.
6. Someone from "Microsoft Tech Support" calls to fix
your computer
"You have won the Microsoft Lottery‚
You won the Irish Lottery!
Microsoft "requires credit card information to
validate your copy of Windows‛
There are hundreds of scams having to do with sales
through EBay, Craig’s List, and PayPal.
‘Gold/romance' scams originating mainly from Africa
can take a number of forms, but usually involve
providing assistance to a 'business partner' or
'romantic associate' to import gold for substantial
financial benefit
"Microsoft" sends unsolicited email messages with
attached security updates
7. Be wary of any threats, website links, bad spelling, or
name of an actual company.
8. Never give out your passwords, and make them complicated
enough that no one would guess it.
Notice red flags like threats, bad spelling, if your friend didn’t
tell you they were on vacation, anything to do with wiring
money, or a non-matching URL.
If you do receive an email you know is a scam, do not reply to
it. Try contacting your friend to tell them they have a hacked
account, and tell others you think might have gotten it.
People who hack into other’s emails to send out fake
messages are no one but criminals looking for nice people
like you to send them money.
Bottom line: If it seems sketchy, ignore the email and talk to
your friend in person to find out what’s going on.