Types of E-mail Hoaxes
1. YOU HAVE WON £1,000,000.00 (One Million Great Britain Pounds)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Microsoft Events Manager"
To:
Subject: YOU HAVE WON £1,000,000.00 (One Million Great Britain Pounds)
Microsoft Award Team 20 Craven Park, Harlesden London NW10,United Kingdom.
Dear Lucky winner,
WINNING NOTIFICATION
The prestigious Microsoft and AOL has set out and successfully organized a Sweepstakes marking the end of year anniversary we rolled out over 100,000.000.00 (One Hundred Million Great Britain Pounds)
Your email address as indicated drawn and attached to ..................................................................
Please Contact your Events Manager
Mr. Lennox Sherman
Microsoft Events Manager
Payment And Release Order Dept.
Email: ........................
You are advised to contact your fiduciary agent with the following details:
Your Full Names:
Date of birth:
Sex:
Address:
Nationality:
Country:
Occupation:
Phone Number:
Ticket Numbers:
Batch Number:
Serial Number:
Lucky Numbers:
Sincerely,
Dr.Ann Hawkes
Head Customercare Service
Microsoft Promotion Team
-------------------------------------------------------
THAT IS WHAT MICROSOFT ABUSE TEAM SAYS ABOUT IT:
The message is most likely a “phishing” attempt. Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your money or your identity, by tricking you into disclosing information like credit card numbers, passwords, or other confidential personal information.Online scam artists do this by sending fake e-mail that appears to come from a source you would normally trust – like your bank or credit-card company. As a general online practice, we strongly recommend that you do not respond to requests for personal information via e-mail.
To help you identify if the e-mail you have received is a hoax e-mail, here are some additional information:
- Microsoft does not send unsolicited e-mails that include attachments. If you ever receive an unsolicited e-mail with an attached executable claiming to be from Microsoft, it is best to delete it immediately.
- To verify that an e-mail message that claims to be from Microsoft is genuine, visit the following Web site: ms_genuine_mail
- If you have already opened the attachment, suspect that your system is infected, or want information about viruses, visit the following Web site: ms security
- For information about this and other hoaxes, visit the following Web sites: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
(CIAC is the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, a United States Government organization.)
http://www.snopes.com/
http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/
Note: The links in this message may lead to third-party Web sites. Microsoft provides third-party resources to help you find customer service or technical support resources. Information at these sites may change without notice. Microsoft is not responsible for the content at any third-party Web sites and does not guarantee the accuracy of third-party information.
We hope this information is helpful.
Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.
Srinivas
Microsoft Online Customer Service Representative
FORWARD TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS SO TO KNOW ABOUT AND DELETE IT AT ONCE, NO FURTHER CONSIDERATION IS NEEDED.
-------------------------------------------------------
The above-mentioned hoax message can be classified as both fishing scam (because it requests for the user's personal information that may later be used for identity theft) and advanced fee fraud, more precisely one of its categories called foreign lottery scam, (as it "informs" the recipient that he/she has won a lot of money and if the person responds to the message by providing the requested information, the scammers would instruct the person to pay some made up fee in order to claim the prize; and after the scummers receive the money they disappear).
THE FOLLOWING IS MORE DETAILED INFO ABOUT THESE TYPES OF SCUM:
Phishing.
Phishing scams are information gathering scams for identity theft. They usually come as a message indicating that there is a problem with your account, credit card, etc. and ask for a lot of personal information such as your username and password. Usually they point you to some web pages that appear to be associated with the real company. They use all sorts of methods to hide the fact that you are not really where you think you are. The web pages contain a login page for your username and password and then a page for all your personal information. What you don't realize is that the login page accepts anything for a username and password and saves what you typed for the scammer. If you dutifully fill in all your personal information the scammer now has everything he needs to empty your bank accounts and charge items to your credit card. He can open new accounts in your name and make charges without paying. Eventually, you will find out when your bank account is empty or your credit report shows unpaid accounts.
A difficulty here is in determining if an e-mail message really came from your bank or came from a scammer. Most of the scam e-mails are crafted so that it is difficult to tell that you are not going to the company you expect to be going to. In the current ones you have to read the html source code for the message in order to tell where the link will really take you. The best course of action if you get a message of this type from a financial organization where you have an account is to open the organization's web page directly. Never use a link in an e-mail message to connect to your account. If there really is a problem with your account, you will be able to find that information when you login. You can also test the login by typing garbage for your username and password. If the website lets you in anyway, the site is a scam. Don't do this more than once or twice in a row as most sites disable your account if they get too many login failures. If the message is from an institution where you do not have an account, just put the message in the trash or send it to abuse@sitename and let the company handle it.
THE FOLLOWING IS MORE DETAILED INFO ABOUT THESE TYPES OF SCUM:
Phishing.
Phishing scams are information gathering scams for identity theft. They usually come as a message indicating that there is a problem with your account, credit card, etc. and ask for a lot of personal information such as your username and password. Usually they point you to some web pages that appear to be associated with the real company. They use all sorts of methods to hide the fact that you are not really where you think you are. The web pages contain a login page for your username and password and then a page for all your personal information. What you don't realize is that the login page accepts anything for a username and password and saves what you typed for the scammer. If you dutifully fill in all your personal information the scammer now has everything he needs to empty your bank accounts and charge items to your credit card. He can open new accounts in your name and make charges without paying. Eventually, you will find out when your bank account is empty or your credit report shows unpaid accounts.
A difficulty here is in determining if an e-mail message really came from your bank or came from a scammer. Most of the scam e-mails are crafted so that it is difficult to tell that you are not going to the company you expect to be going to. In the current ones you have to read the html source code for the message in order to tell where the link will really take you. The best course of action if you get a message of this type from a financial organization where you have an account is to open the organization's web page directly. Never use a link in an e-mail message to connect to your account. If there really is a problem with your account, you will be able to find that information when you login. You can also test the login by typing garbage for your username and password. If the website lets you in anyway, the site is a scam. Don't do this more than once or twice in a row as most sites disable your account if they get too many login failures. If the message is from an institution where you do not have an account, just put the message in the trash or send it to abuse@sitename and let the company handle it.
Advanced Fee Fraud.
Probably the most well known examples of advanced fee fraud are the Nigerian 419 and Lottery scams. In advanced fee fraud, you are generally offered a lot of money in exchange for what appears to be a safe transaction. What happens later is that after you are "sucked in," the scammer will start asking for money for taxes, shipping, bribes, etc. in order to get the large amount of money out of the country. What's $10,000 when you are going to get $15,000,000 for just the use of your account? You may also be asked to travel to a foreign country to pick up the money. At which time you are kidnapped and your relatives are asked for money for your release or you enter the country illegally with the scammer's representative (he told you it is OK to enter without a visa) and are blackmailed into delivering more money.
The most well known of the advanced fee fraud is the Nigerian 419 scam. In this scam there is some money in a foreign country and the scammer wants you to help him get it out of the country. The money may be someone's inheritance, stolen money obtained from over billing a government, money stashed away by a dictator, or any other source of a large amount of money (usually many millions of dollars). The scammer only needs to use your bank account and offers you a substantial percentage for its use. You could give him access to an empty account but as soon as he has you hooked, he will start asking for money. Bribes, shipping fees, taxes, whatever he can talk you into until he cannot get any more and then he is gone.
Foreign Lottery scams are the second most well known of the advanced fee fraud schemes. In this scam you get a message from an official of the lottery telling you that you have won. Woopie, you are rich!! Of course you do not remember entering the lottery but they come up with some sort of a story for why you don't remember. They get your information and then you start getting requests for money. Taxes are due before the money can be paid out. A bribe is needed for a public official because it is illegal for an American to play foreign lotteries. And so on until they take as much from you as they can get.
A new version of advanced fee fraud involves people listing expensive items for sale on the Internet. The scammer sends you a message indicating that he wants to buy your item. Someone in your country owes him some money so that person is going to send you a cashier's check for your item and you should take out what you are owed for your item and forward a new cashier's check to him with the balance. As you might expect, the cashier's check sent to you is a fake but while you are waiting for the check to clear, the scammer will be bugging you to send him his share.
If you have been scammed, contact your local or state law enforcement as soon as possible and change the passwords on all your accounts.
-------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Microsoft, HoaxBusters.
-------------------------------------------------------Probably the most well known examples of advanced fee fraud are the Nigerian 419 and Lottery scams. In advanced fee fraud, you are generally offered a lot of money in exchange for what appears to be a safe transaction. What happens later is that after you are "sucked in," the scammer will start asking for money for taxes, shipping, bribes, etc. in order to get the large amount of money out of the country. What's $10,000 when you are going to get $15,000,000 for just the use of your account? You may also be asked to travel to a foreign country to pick up the money. At which time you are kidnapped and your relatives are asked for money for your release or you enter the country illegally with the scammer's representative (he told you it is OK to enter without a visa) and are blackmailed into delivering more money.
The most well known of the advanced fee fraud is the Nigerian 419 scam. In this scam there is some money in a foreign country and the scammer wants you to help him get it out of the country. The money may be someone's inheritance, stolen money obtained from over billing a government, money stashed away by a dictator, or any other source of a large amount of money (usually many millions of dollars). The scammer only needs to use your bank account and offers you a substantial percentage for its use. You could give him access to an empty account but as soon as he has you hooked, he will start asking for money. Bribes, shipping fees, taxes, whatever he can talk you into until he cannot get any more and then he is gone.
Foreign Lottery scams are the second most well known of the advanced fee fraud schemes. In this scam you get a message from an official of the lottery telling you that you have won. Woopie, you are rich!! Of course you do not remember entering the lottery but they come up with some sort of a story for why you don't remember. They get your information and then you start getting requests for money. Taxes are due before the money can be paid out. A bribe is needed for a public official because it is illegal for an American to play foreign lotteries. And so on until they take as much from you as they can get.
A new version of advanced fee fraud involves people listing expensive items for sale on the Internet. The scammer sends you a message indicating that he wants to buy your item. Someone in your country owes him some money so that person is going to send you a cashier's check for your item and you should take out what you are owed for your item and forward a new cashier's check to him with the balance. As you might expect, the cashier's check sent to you is a fake but while you are waiting for the check to clear, the scammer will be bugging you to send him his share.
If you have been scammed, contact your local or state law enforcement as soon as possible and change the passwords on all your accounts.
-------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Microsoft, HoaxBusters.
----- Original Message -----
FW: Cancer News from John Hopkins
No plastics in micro
No water bottles in freezer
No plastic wrap in micro
Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in their newsletters worth noting... This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Dioxin Carcinogens cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Don't freeze your plastic water bottles with water as this also releases dioxins in the plastic.
Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle hospital was on a TV program explaining this health hazard. (He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital.)
He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.
This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, without the dioxins.
So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
To add to this, Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food, use paper towels.
Pass this on to your family & friends & those that are important in your life!
Commentary:
An earlier variant of this hoax referred only to the freezing of plastic water bottles. This later version has added on spurious information about using plastics in microwave ovens as well. Both versions contain false and misleading information.
Rolf Halden of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has expertly debunked the rumour linking plastic bottles to cancer. According to Halden the claim is an urban legend. He explains that:
Freezing actually works against the release of chemicals. Chemicals do not diffuse as readily in cold temperatures, which would limit chemical release if there were dioxins in plastic, and we don't think there are.
The agency has assessed migration levels of substances added to regulated plastics and has found the levels to be well within the margin of safety based on information available to the agency.
This email is labelled false for the following reasons:
- The email falsely claims that freezing water in plastic containers causes dioxins to enter the liquid.
- The email makes statements about a particular product, Saran Wrap, that have been effectively proved to be untrue by the company that makes the product.
- Dr. Edward Fujimoto is a real person who apparently did make at least some of the statements attributed to him. However, although Dr. Fujimoto told TruthorFiction.com that he had evidence supporting his claims, the article notes that he has so far failed to produce this alleged evidence. It appears that his claims remain unsubstantiated. To my knowledge, they have never been backed up by any sort of credible scientific studies. In fact, experts in the field have resoundingly refuted his claims. If credible scientific information backing up the claims in the email had been presented, the FDA, and other health authorities worldwide, would have certainly re-examined the issue. The previously mentioned FDA article states that the FDA will revisit its safety evaluation if new scientific information raises concerns. Apparently, no such scientific information has been forthcoming.
- The email makes no effort to back up the information it contains with any sort of checkable references.
- Some versions of the email (including the example above) claim that the information is endorsed by John Hopkins University and /or the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. However, I have found no evidence to support this claim. Earlier versions of the email did not include this supposed endorsement, so it appears that someone has added it to the message in an attempt to make the information sound more believable.
- The mainstream media and the medical establishment remain relatively silent on the issue in spite of the fact that versions of the email have been circulating for several years. If the information in the email had been proved to be true, or even partially substantiated by credible medical studies, then it would almost certainly be widely publicized in a variety of media. If true, informing the public about health risks associated with the use of plastics would certainly not be left to the random forwarding of a poorly written email.
However, while the claims in this email forward are demonstrably untrue, alarmist and highly misleading, it is important to keep in mind that not all plastics are necessarily safe to use in microwave ovens. As stated earlier in the article, plastics are considered by experts to be safe to use in microwave ovens so long as microwave safe plastics are used and manufacturers guidelines are followed. However, some plastic containers - such as those that hold meals from fast-food outlets, or cold food receptacles such as margarine tubs - may not be suitable for microwave use. The American Plastics Council has information and resources about safely using plastics in the microwave oven on its website.
-------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: hoax-slayer
No comments:
Post a Comment