The Top 10 Scams For 2008!

There is an online article that is listing the top 10 scams for the year 2008!

As you can imagine some of those in the top ten include government grant schemes, mortgage foreclosure help, credit repair help and working from home jobs!

It is a very informative article and you can read it online by clicking here.

Another Paypal Phishing Scam!

If you have a Paypal account be on the lookout for another phishing attempt at getting your Paypal information!


Dear customer,

We have reviewed and restored your account. To complete the process please re-login:

"http://xxxxxx.com................................."

Thank you for your patience during this process and for helping to make PayPal the safest and most trusted online payment solution.


Yours sincerely,

PayPal Account Review Department


Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 使 1999-2009 PayPal. All rights reserved.

PayPal (Europe) S.a r.l. & Cie, S.C.A.
Societe en Commandite par Actions
Registered Office: 5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg
RCS Luxembourg B 118 349

PayPal Email ID XXXXXXX

Of course this is an attempt to get your Paypal information! If you click on the blue link in the email it will take you to a site that is not the official Paypal website. If someone else has your Paypal information then that means that they can withdraw money from your Paypal account!

Be Careful Of THIS Email Scam!

As soon as I saw this in my email box I knew that it was a scam email! So please be careful if you receive an email similar to this one! Just so you know that you're not alone, I decided to post a copy of this email - past dated 2008!


YAHOO INTERNET AWARDS 2008
Yahoo Awards Center
124 Stockport Road, Longsight,
London M60 2DB
United Kingdom.

Dear Email Owner,

CONGRATULATIONS!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of GBP800,000,00 British Pounds (Eight Hundred Thousand British Pounds). Only for the email users this 2008 Prize promotion which is organized by YAHOO INTERNET AWARDS 2008.

Yahoo! Collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online this 2008, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and few from other e-mail providers. 12 people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners this month of October 2008.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE / CLAIMS

Winners shall be paid in accordance with their Settlement Centers. Yahoo Prize Award must be claimed not less than 3Weeks from the date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited and returned to its source as unclaimed Prize/Fund.

STATED BELOW ARE YOUR IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS:
BATCH NUMBER: xxxx............
REFERENCE NUMBER: xxxx............
FILE NUMBER: YAHOO/xxxx............

You are Advised to contact your Claim Agent with the below contact details and forward your winning and personal identification numbers to him:

CLAIM AGENT NAME: DR. JAMES SMITH
TEL: xxxx............
CONTACT E-MAIL: xxxx............

You are advised to send the below following informations to your claim agent to enable him facilitate the release of your fund to you by our Paying Bank.

1. Your Full name:
2. Your Country:
3. Contact Address:
4. Telephone Number:
5. Fax Number:
6. Marital Status:
7. Occupation:
8. Sex:
9. Age:

Congratulations!!! Once again.

Yours in service,
Mrs. Susan Leonard.
(Awards Notification Officer)

I Almost Thoght That This Was Real!

I got this email recently:

Your Payment Agreement

Dear customer,

You have set up a Payment Agreement to automatically pay your eBid seller fees with PayPal. The description of your agreement is shown below:

Description: eBid Seller Fees

If you did not authorize this agreement please click the link bellow:

https://www.paypal.co.uk/xxxxxxxxxxxx

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 使1999-2009 PayPal. All rights reserved.

PayPal (Europe) S.a r.l. & Cie, S.C.A.
Societe en Commandite par Actions
Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg
RCS Luxembourg B 118 349


Now since I do belong to Paypal, I almost thought that this email was real until I looked at the provided link more closely! The link DOES NOT take you to a legitimate Paypal site! Instead it goes somewhere else.

If you have a Paypal account you have to be very careful when you get any Paypal-related email. Since belonging to Paypal means that you are doing financial transactions online you want to be very careful that no one else - besides you and Paypal - have access to your account! If you do get a Paypal-related email you should not click on any link provided! What you should do is go directly to your Paypal account and see if there are any problems with your Paypal account.

I have had the experience of talking to Paypal on the phone and so far I haven't had any problems with them yet - indeed a few of those times the people that I talked to were very helpful!

These kinds of emails are sent because people are "phishing" for you account information. Once they have your account information they may be able to withdraw your Paypal funds!

So you have to be very careful!

Twitter Profit House

I am a big fan of Twitter and I have my own Twitter site at:

My Twitter Page

Of course there are a whole lot of scams going on online about how one can make money using everything from Twitter to Google's Adsense Cash Cow! I came upon something called Twitter Profit House and right away I knew that it was going to be a scam but I decided to investigate a little bit further. Of course my suspicions were right when I saw a site where someone had joined this and got taken - It definitely IS a scam!

In short it seems that they say that they will only charge you $2 BUT you run the risk of them charging more on your credit card if you are not mindful of their terms and conditions! You can read more about this by clicking here.

I also have a blog about working from home and this is definitely one thing that I would NOT recommend for someone who wants to be able to work from their home!

Official Stimulus Check? - I Think Not!

Here is a recent copy of a email I got:

OFFICIAL 2009 STIMULUS CHECK ADVISORY

Congratulations! You've been selected to receive a FREE Stimulus Check in the amount of 100USD

Click below to claim your FREE Stimulus Check!

The economy is in crisis and everyone is saving where they can! We'd like to help reduce your stress and financial hardships by putting money back into your pocket! Simply visit below to learn how you can claim your FREE Stimulus Check in the amount of $100! We know every dollar and cent helps! (Participation required. See below for details.)

Start it NOW! Go your check below:

http://xxxx.xxxx

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. To receive the reward you must: 1) be a U.S. resident at least 18 years of age or older; 2) register with valid information; 3) complete the following reward offers: 2 Silver offers, 2 Gold offers, and 6 Platinum offers (Available reward offers will vary. Some reward offers require a purchase. Credit card offers may require you to activate the card by making a purchase, transferring a balance or taking a cash advance.); and 4) follow the redemption instructions. All program requirements must be completed within 120 days of the date of registration. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Limit of one (1) gift per household. No cash redemption value. Please visit our website to read the complete Terms & Conditions.

Regards,

Stimulus Check Manager

If you get an email such as this one I hope that you don't fall for it! As someone that does grant research I am here to tell you that getting a check from the government will involve much more than just sending an email!

Yet Another Email For Viagra!

Here is yet another email I got concerning Viagra!

Viagra is an oral drug for male impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction. Having been around for a lot longer, Viagra has a great safety track record and proven effects that start acting in 30 minutes and last for about 5 hours.

Viagra is used to treat impotence in men. It increases the body's ability to achieve and maintain an erection during sexual stimulation.

Viagra should be taken as needed about 1 hour before sexual activity. However, Viagra can be taken anytime from 4 hours to 30 minutes before sexual activity.

Viagra is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. It works by helping the blood flow into the penis to achieve and maintain an erection.

Help?

Salute ,

I am Mrs xxxx woman bassed in bagdad in iraq,I came Accross
your email after a business search on web so i felt i should contact
you for a transaction we could do together,it is with that i wish to
contact you for a little assistance we could render to each other.

Due to the situation here in iraq, those of us in the business circle
are finding it very difficult to cope with the situation here,no stable
goverment, bomb explotion at strategic places every now and
then,sometimes people find it very difficult to go about their normal businesses
due to fear of being victim of terrorist attack,
above all the crisis in iraq now has made business activities totaly
parallised for quite sometime now.for intance,no good telephone
facilities,no adiquate security,infact,all most all the basic infrastructure
were destroyed during the recent war in iraq,ever since then the
enveroment in iraq has never been condusive business wise.

Please,why i need your assistance is that i have about (US$ 10.000.000)
Ten million united states Dollars in my custody.i inherited the
money from my late husband who was a major general in iraqi army in charge
of purchase and maintainance in the immediate past regime.My intention
is to move the money out of iraq and invest the money in stock market
or real estate in your country with the help of an honest person who
will work with me as my foreign associate, i want to invest most of the
money abroad to avoid lossing the money, because it is not wise doing
business in the atmosphere of fear here in iraq,that's why i am calling
on you.If you can honestly collaborate with me ,i am ready to pay you up
to 25% of the total amount if you can sincerely assist me to actualise
this project soon,because the situation here in iraq is very
critical,the everyday bomb explotion seems to have no end.

I wait patiently for your urgent response i am just trusting on you in
the name of ALMIGHTY ALLAH and i know you will not sit on my money and
deny me, am a Devouted mosleem woman and i respect ALLAH so pls do not
dissapoint me because i have made up my mind to esterblish the US$10m
dollars in your country of which i would want you to be my business
partner. i told my Diplomat that you are my business partner and we have
fiduciary relationship. i hope you understood me clearly. inshy allah.

waiting patiently for your immediate response to this email ( E-mail:
xxxxxx@xxxxx.com)

May the almighty Allah bless you and your Family as you help me and my
little children in truth and in spirit.

Warm Regards,
Mrs xxxx-xxx

I sometimes wonder WHY I get such email and then I am reminded that there have actually been people that have fallen for this type of scam! I remember watching about it on the news.

With the economy of the United States being so bad and people looking for more easier ways to make money, I can see why some people have fallen for this type of scam.

The news report that I saw on TV was very interesting in that they followed a similar email such as this all the way to the source!

Long story short - This is a SCAM plain and simple!

Here is another "spam" email that I have gotten recently:


SNOWE Edwin Jr.,

Dear Sir ,


My name is xxxxx xxxxx xx, A member of the Liberian House of Representatives and the Managing Director of the Liberian Petroleum and Refining Corporation (LPRC) under the leadership of Charles Taylor.

http://xxxx

As you may be aware my former boss is undergoing trial in the world court. And as a result we have been ban from Traveling out pending the end of the case.

http://xxxx

During my tenure as the petroleum Director, I was able to move some money, the sum of
($5,500,000.00) Five million Five Hundred Thousand United states dollars, out of Liberia.

Presently, I am contacting you because I want you to assist me in collecting the money and assist me in importation of goods.

I hope to trust you as a God fearing person who will not sit on this money when you claim it, rather assist me properly, I shall be ready to offer you 30%.

When I receive your positive response I will let you know where the country where the money is and to enable make the claim

Be assured that this transaction is 100% risk free and your participation will not bring you into any disrepute as confidentiality is assured.

Best Regards,
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Am I going to respond to this email?

Absolutely Not!

If you're interested in finding a legitimate way to see if you are eligible to receive money, I suggest that you visit my The Unclaimed Money Blog to see if you are eligible for the Millions! of dollars that are unclaimed! You or a family member may be due this money!



The unclaimed money comes from lost or forgotten bank accounts, unclaimed lottery winnings and much much more!