Beware Halifax scam

[SwedeFox]

I had an Email recently asking me to update my Wonga account. I knew it was a scam but I clicked on there out of curiosity .AVG wouldn't let me go on there as it was a phishing site.

I had a very similar email from someone purporting to be my bank, and I also knew it was a scam, but the similarities stop there: I didn't click on it.

 

[bocadillo]

FROM THE DESK OF: GORDON PELL
COUTTS & CO PRIVATE BANK
LONDON,
UNITED KINGDOM.
3/4/2013.

Your Attn,

Compliments of the season and good day.I am Gordon Pell, the deputy system and control director at Coutts & Co Private Bank here in UK. I write to solicit for support and assistance from you to carry out this business opportunity in my bank.

Lying in an inactive account is the sum of Eighteen Million Pounds sterling belonging to a foreign customer(Mr.Neil Slater) who was a gas consultant here in UK,he happened to be deceased during a vacation trip with his wife(Mrs.Helen Slater) on board One-Two-Go Orient-Thai Airlines flight OG269 Phuket Airport plane crash of Monday,17th September 2007 from Bangkok to Phuket.
Info of this crash was on the news which we have tried to notify his relatives but to no avail, see link below for more detailed information:

[link removed]

Ever since he died the bank has been expecting his next of kin to come and claim these fund which cannot be released unless someone applies for it as next of kin, as indicated in our banking guidelines.Unfortunately, he has no family member in UK or Over-sea who are aware of the existence of the funds,at this junction, I have decided to do business with you by soliciting your assistance in applying as the next of kin to the bank then the money will be released to you, as i do not want the money to go into the bank treasury as an unclaimed bill, because the banking laws and guidelines stipulates that if such money(s) remains unclaimed for a period of Six years(6yrs),the money will be moved into the bank treasury as an unclaimed bill.
My request for a foreigner as next of kin is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a British cannot stand as next of kin.

50% of the money will be your share as a foreign partner and your assistance to actualise this deal,thereafter i will visit your country with your help once the money hits your account for disbursement according to the percentage indicated.
To effect the immediate transfer of the fund to you as agreed, you must apply first to the bank as the next of kin to the deceased,then we will follow up all formalities for the transaction.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you, the text of application you are to send to the bank,and further clarify you in other issues as to effect this business.
Awaiting to hear from you urgently.

Best Regards
Gordon Pell.



I knew immediately that this was a phishing email, of course - nobody at Coutts Bank would sign off a letter with "Best Regards" and put a full-stop after their name.

 

[Blue Maniac]

I knew immediately that this was a phishing email, of course - nobody at Coutts Bank would sign off a letter with "Best Regards" and put a full-stop after their name.

That's not the only problem. Some of the many, many others are:

Compliments of the season

Nope.

I write

Do you really? I wouldn't have guessed.

he happened to be deceased during a vacation trip with his wife(Mrs.Helen Slater)

Huh?

on board One-Two-Go Orient-Thai Airlines flight OG269 Phuket Airport plane crash of Monday,17th September 2007 from Bangkok to Phuket.

Wrong date.

Over-sea

Nope.

at this junction

Nope.

My request for a foreigner

What foreigner?

Awaiting to hear from you urgently.

Wrong again.
+
That's not the only problem.
-
Some people really are thick. Why write something like this, trying to convince people you're British, when English clearly isn't your first language? Why cite a plane crash and get the ****ing date wrong? If you're going to be a criminal, at least try to be good at it.

 

[fitz]

The "I write" bit makes me believe it is genuine, nearly every legal letter I get at work starts with "I write..."

Gets right on my tits it does

 

[Jeff]

Some people really are thick. Why write something like this, trying to convince people you're British, when English clearly isn't your first language? Why cite a plane crash and get the ****ing date wrong? If you're going to be a criminal, at least try to be good at it.

They don't have to be good at it. People who are gullible enough to fall for these things are too thick to notice all the mistakes.

 

[Matt_B]

Dear Valued Customer,

Your Santander Account security validation has expired, this
maybe as a result of wrong or incomplete data entered
during

Santander Bank Member Services
Revalidate Your Online Account Ownership



Link was for a poker site of some sort.It's almost like the sender of this did it in a break between hands the lazy bugger.

I've deleted the image from this post as it was an external link to an invalid SSL protected site. It could potentially be harmful in the future.

 

[Blue Maniac]

They don't have to be good at it. People who are gullible enough to fall for these things are too thick to notice all the mistakes.

It depresses me that people that stupid exist. It depresses me that my late grandmother was one of them.

 

[Blue Maniac]

I've deleted the image from this post as it was an external link to an invalid SSL protected site. It could potentially be harmful in the future.

Only five months after it was posted. Nice work.

 

[spionfox]

Only five months after it was posted. Nice work.

Don't mock him. He is only protecting us :icon_wink

 

[bocadillo]

That's not the only problem.

It's the only one I was aware of. I read emails from the bottom and work upwards.
:icon_wink

 

[Blue Maniac]

Don't mock him. He is only protecting us :icon_wink

I never mock.

It's the only one I was aware of. I read emails from the bottom and work upwards.
:icon_wink

Obviously :icon_lol:

 

[Matt_B]

Only five months after it was posted. Nice work.

My phone only just started alerting me (my laptop doesn't for some reason) so it may be that the certificate expired recently.

 

[Motown Fox]

MY NAME IS CAPT. MICHAEL P. BRABNER AN OFFICER IN THE US ARMY, PRESENTLY SERVING WITH THE 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN IRAQ.I AM ON THE MOVE TO AFGHANISTAN AND I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP IN ASSISTING ME WITH THE SAFE KEEPING OF TWO MILITARY TRUNK BOXES WHICH HAS JUST ARRIVED THE USA. WILL EXPLAIN FURTHER AS SOON AS YOU RESPOND Email:bc********[email protected]

Shall I assist him with his trunks?

 

[Macky]

Shall I assist him with his trunks?

Be careful MoFo, I think he might be a CIA agent. I can't think of any other reason that an American would have an email address from the Philippines

 

[Mawsley]

Why do Mericans insist on shouting?

 

[Blue Maniac]

Why do Mericans insist on shouting?

So they can hear themselves over all the Mexicans shouting 'andele, arriba!', playing salsa music and firing guns into the air at weddings.

Now that is racist.

 

[Motown Fox]

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/news/uk/article/mind-boggling-scam-targets-banks/86513/

Etay Maor, fraud prevention solutions manager at Trusteer, said those behind the latest breach had devised an "unbelievable" technique to defraud bank clients when they log on.

This involves malware - a type of software that is designed to damage or disable computer systems - which remains idle until a user accesses an online bank account.

The Ramnit malware then asks the customer to enter a one-time password, using a message created to appear as if it were sent from the bank, before it diverts funds from a customer's account.

Mr Maor said: "It is mind-boggling. They even modify the language in the FAQ section to support the new procedure.

"I don't like giving credit to bad guys but they have done their job very well. They are trying to cover every aspect to ensure the user falls victim to the scam."

 

[Jeff]

I've just received an email saying my Paypal account was limited, whatever that means.


It seems to be genuine though, it's for "PayPal Costmuer", and only Paypal would know that PayPal Costmuer is my real name.

I want to contact them to find out what they mean by "As part of our security measures, we regularly check the work of the screen PayPal."
But I don't know how to contact them, I can't reply to the email they sent - "Please don't reply to this email. It'll just confuse the computer that sent it and you won't get a response."

 

[Dour]

I spit on your puny generals and tawdry wives of deceased oil executives. But it must be hard when you're down to your last $20 billion and you have to ask strangers for help.

Greetings,

I am Hajia Safia Farkash Gaddafi the wife of the late Libyan Leader Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi. Following the recent rebellion in my country and the
brutal death of my husband on the 20 Oct 2011, I have been thrown into a
state of utter confusion, frustration and hopelessness. I have been
subjected to psychological torture here in Oman where I am currently taking
refuge.

As a traumatized widow that has already lost three sons, I have lost
confidence in everybody both here in Oman and back home in Libya where
the people that pretended to be loyal to my husband have now abandoned us.
You must have heard over the media reports and the internet on the recovery
of various huge sums of money deposited by my husband in different firms
abroad, some companies willingly gave up their secrets, disclosing our
monetary transactions with them for robust reward from the new Libyan
government. In fact, a lot of money has been discovered and confiscated
from my family, these were in cash deposited with different banks across
the world, all these happened because we were sold out to the new Libyan
government by the people that we had confidence in.

The new Libyan government is saying that my husband misappropriated Libyan
funds, this is a pure political propaganda to rubbish my family image. My
husband alleviated poverty and improved the living standard of over 80%
Libyans. Including the imposition of agriculture and pipe-borne water
supply all through the desert areas of Libya, despite all these, my late
husband's enemies in the new Libyan government are not relenting in their
efforts to hunt and run down all the members of my family.

There is a certain amount of money kept securely by my late husband in
Europe in my name and I am the only person that is privy to the location. I
am writing to you out of desperation. I want you to assist me in moving
this money out of its present location to anywhere you deem save for a
percentage.

I will give you more information as to this regard as soon as you reply. I
repose great confidence in you hence my approach to you through email. Due
to the security network placed on the affairs of my family, email has been
my only means of communication and I cannot afford to do anything on my
own, so, I decided to contact someone who is not in any way connected to my
family.

I will appreciate your timely and favourable response.

Best Regards

Hajia Safia Farkash Gaddafi

 

[camberwell fox]

I spit on your puny generals and tawdry wives of deceased oil executives. But it must be hard when you're down to your last $20 billion and you have to ask strangers for help.

That seems honest enough.