Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Scammers Beware!

Do you get as many e-mails and phone calls, not to mention actual snail mail, from scammers as I do? It's not a typo - I really meant to say scammers, not spammers. I get e-mails every single day from crooks who are trying to steal my personal information. Here's an excerpt from todays:

"CONGRATULATIONS WE BRING TO YOUR NOTICE!!!
THE OFFICE OF THE SENATE HOUSE HAS CHOSEN YOU BY THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEE AS ONE OF THE FINAL RECIPIENT OF THIS
NEW YEAR 2008 PROMOTION CASH GRANT/DONATION, TO
CELEBRATE THE 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATE, WE ARE GIVING OUT A YEARLY
DONATION OF THE ATM CARD VALUE IS USD($500,000.00) FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLARS TO 7 LUCK RECIPIENTS, AS NEW YEAR
PROMOTION FROM THE W.H.O,UN,AND THE EU in ACCORDANCE WITH THE ENABLING
ACT PARLIATED.THE ATM GRANT/AID ONLY COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESS OF FINAL
RECIPIENT FROM DEFFERENT COUNTRY: UNITED STATS, GREECE, SAUDI ARABIA,
EUROPE,ETC.AND WITH AN ELECTRONIC BALLOTING SYSTEM, WITHOUT THE
RECIPIENT APPLYING, YOU EMERGED ONE OF OUR LUCKY BENEFICIARY.

YOU ARE TO FILL OUT THE BELOW INFORMATION AND SEND IT BACK TO THE
PAYMENT
REMMITANCE
OFFICE VIA EMAIL CONTACT ADDRESS.


WINNING BATCH No:(W-342-8876,U-500-32)

FULL NAME:________________________
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:______________
OCCUPATION:_______________________
NATIONALITY:______________________
PRESENT COUNTRY:__________________
AGE:_______________________________
SEX:_______________________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER:________________
FAX NUMBER:_______________________

ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS.....
(PAYMENT REMMITANCE OFFICE CONTACT)"



Another scam attempt is from someone trying to sell us extended auto warranty coverage because our current warranty "is about to run out." Hmmmm. We have one vehicle, close to 20 years old, and we've NEVER had a warranty with it!

These people have been calling regularly, even on our cell phones. How do they get your cell number? They just call a directory - it's now legal to give out cell numbers unless you pay the provider extra for a private one.

A couple of weeks ago a man with a poor phone connection called about this warranty thing and Jeff asked him for his phone number, company name, etc. The guy hung up immediately.

Be careful, people! We live in desperate times and there are those who are out to take you for whatever they can get. If it sounds really, really good - it's bad. If you can, try to get enough info to turn them in and follow up.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah....both Christine and a girlfriend of mine have been getting these car calls. Christine doesn't even own a car. Where are they getting these numbers? I think they're just generating them. She's been called several times about the car stuff. I'm afraid our cell numbers aren't going to remain quite so private any more.....
bethanyrae

Qtpies7 said...

I get those ALL the time!