Variation on the Nigerian bank scams

Just last week I came across this variation on the Nigerian bank scams.

Like all good scams, it sounds reasonable and plausible . . . So what was it about this one in particular?

Firstly . . .

email address

The first giveaway that this is not a legitimate email is the sending email address.

Even though the body of the email makes reference to a legitimate South African company with a legitimate website, the sending email address is a hotmail account.

It is always a big give-away when the sending email address is not linked to the domain of the company it purports to be coming from.

Grammar

Incorrect use of grammar or spelling, tends to indicate that the email may not be from a legitimate source . . .

Not always, but quite often . . .

“Thanks for your quick responds to my email.”

Add to that, the fact that the email is claiming that I already contacted them, when I know that I have not, and it is smelling very bad!

So . . . here it is in all it glory ! LOL

Dear Philip,

Thanks for your quick responds to my email.

It will interest you to know that our company (XXXXX Co.) is at the forefront of creating remarkable living environments and have extensive experience in designing interior solutions. Our commitment extends far beyond just design, with a large manufacturing and installation component. The company was founded in 1995. For better understanding of our company, please use our website address.

Our company is gradually getting to establish its branch in your area with the help of our investors, and the area has been zoned by our company, but we need you to partner with us as our Zonal Coordinator. This does not require your time commitment as everything is done online, and also will not require your skills but your personality.

Our investors and customers are finding it difficult to transact with us because we don’t have a Zonal Coordinator representing our company to enable them remit their due debt. This is the main reason why we want you to partner with us as the Zonal Coordinator. All payment coming from our investors and customers around that zone (Australia) will be remitted to you.

This will continue till we are able to setup the branch office with the help of our investor who has agreed and ready to financially support the project. We have already entered into agreement with them, of which your benefit as the Zonal Coordinator is included. You have a benefit of 5% from any funds that is remitted to you and you will be paid $35, 000 USD annually as your income.

You will be working from your home or office. It won’t affect your current job as every communication is done online (Email and phone conversation)

In your acceptance to this, you are required to send the info below for your induction as our zonal coordinator.

Full Name
Address
Occupation
Age/Sex
Phone Number
Email

We wait your responds soon to enable us proceed with your induction as the Zonal Coordinator.

Regards,
Shirley Rivers (PRO)
XXXXX Co.

(Names changed to protect the innocent company being framed in this email.)

Sounds too good – Probably is

The old maxim applies – if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

At this point, you can safely ignore an email like this and block its sender with your SPAM software.

But if you are curious, you could explore the website a bit further.

Explore Carefully

You can do a bit more research . . . but VERY CAREFULLY!

In this email, a website was listed with what appeared to be a genuine company behind it.

Be very careful opening links from emails like this.

Never just click on the link, because the actual page linked to could be different from the address displayed in the email.

It is ALWAYS safest to manually transcribe the website url from the email.

In this case, a company name was also given in the email, so I did a Google search first to see if Google gave the same website domain as the url listed in the email.

And in this case, it did … giving some credibility to the company, if not to the actual email.

So I used the contact form on their website to describe what had happened.

I had a quick and very apologetic reply, confirming that indeed the email did not come from them, and the sender was not in any way associated with the company.

BE CAREFULL

Well, that is quite simple really!

Watch this short VIDEO

$500,000 scammed from a woman by 5 NIGERIAN

What should you do now?

If you don’t want to get ripped off, be very careful replying to these types of emails.
Not sure, then forward one to us to research and check out for you.
Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

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