Archive for May, 2006

New Yorker article on Nigerian Scammers

Thursday, May 11th, 2006
by MITCHELL ZUCKOFF
How a Massachusetts psychotherapist fell for a Nigerian e-mail scam.
Worley scrolled through his in-box and opened an e-mail, addressed to “CEO/Owner.” The writer said that his name was Captain Joshua Mbote, and he offered an awkwardly phrased proposition: “With regards to your trustworthiness and reliability, I decided to seek your assistance in transferring some money out of South Africa into your country, for onward dispatch and investment.” Mbote explained that he had been chief of security for the Congolese President Laurent Kabila, who had secretly sent him to South Africa to buy weapons for a force of élite bodyguards. But Kabila had been assassinated before Mbote could complete the mission. “I quickly decided to stop all negotiations and divert the funds to my personal use, as it was a golden opportunity, and I could not return to my country due to my loyalty to the government of Laurent Kabila,” Mbote wrote. Now Mbote had fifty-five million American dollars, in cash, and he needed a discreet partner with an overseas bank account. That partner, of course, would be richly rewarded.

(click on title for full story)

[via digg]

Airline boarding pass can be another potential scammer’s delight

Thursday, May 4th, 2006

Another good reason to be aware where your personal info is printed on.  Apparently fraudsters/scammers are on the lookout of your discarded airline boarding pass.  With very little work, they can over take over your identity and potentially make you wish you were just a bit more careful.  Personally, I try to shred anything that has the least bit of personal info on it.

If the expert was right, this stub would enable me to access Broer’s personal information, including his passport number, date of birth and nationality. It would provide the building blocks for stealing his identity, ruining his future travel plans - and even allow me to fake his passport.

Read more here.

[via slashdot]