Defraud the Fraudsters for Fun or Profit?
I just received an obviously fraudulant email claiming I won a lottery in Europe:
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From: Mrs Monica Martinez
To: mac@glennfrazier.com
Reply-To: el-gorprimitiva@starspath.com
Subject: EL-Gordo De La Primitiva Lottery
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 16:01:10 +0200
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--f638f795-7d02-45d8-887b-2c87660f945d
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
FROM: THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT. INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD.. =
BATCH: IPD/15/096/PTNL. REFERENCE: MLI/5361-ILGI0509/45 CONGRATULATIONS! This =
is to inform you of the release of the EL-GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA LOTTERY held =
on the 30TH MARCH 2005, and results were released on the 2TH MAY 2005. =
Your email addres was attached to ticket number 085-12876077-09 with serial =
number 51390-0 that drew the lucky numbers of 03-05-12-14-28-38, which =
consequently won the lottery in the 1st category. You have herefore been =
approved for a lump sum pay of 1.600.000.00 Euros ( ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED =
THOUSAND EUROS )in cash credited to file with REF: N=BA=
EGS/3662367114/13.This is from a total cash prize of Euros 48,000,000.00 =
shared among the thirty international winners in this category. =
CONGRATULATIONS!! Your fund is now secured and insured in your name. Due to =
mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this award from public =
notice until your claims has been processed and the money remitted to your =
account as this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming of =
unwarranted taking advantage of this program by participants as it has =
happened in the past. All participants were selected through a computer =
ballot system drawn from 25,000 names from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, =
Europe, North and South America, Middle East and Africa as part of our =
International Promotions Program. We hope your lucky name will draw a bigger =
cash prize in the subsequent programs.
To begin your lottery claims, please contact your
claims agent below
MR PEDRO WILLIAMS
DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS MEGA TRUST AGENCY
MADRID SPAIN E-Mail:megatrustagency@europe.com
contactmegatrust@netscape.com
TeL:0034-685-401-378
Fax:0034-685-401-378
Remember, all prize money must be claimed not later than 31TH MAY 2005.Claims =
that are not made before the above date will be returned to the =
MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y HACIENDA. And also be informed that 10% of your =
lottery winning belongs to (IBERO PROMOTION COMPANY S,A.) Because they are =
the company that bought your ticket and played the lottery on your name, NOTE =
this 10% will be remitted after you have received your winnings prize because =
the money is insured in your name already. NOTE: In order to avoid =
unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference =
and batch numbers in every correspondence with us or your claim agent. send =
to your agent your Telephone & Fax number, your full name and residential =
address including your international passport or other valid identification =
proof. The processing of your payment will start immediately and your agent =
must send you fund processing form, which you must complete and return to =
them. Furthermore, should there be any change of address,please do inform =
your claim agent as soon as possible. A copy of your lucky Prize winning =
certificate and insurance will be sent to you by your claim agent prior to =
the transfer of your fund by our paying bank, CONGRATULATION!!! Once again =
from all members of our staff and thank you for being a part of our =
International promotions program.we wish you continued good fortunes.
Sincerely,
MRS. MONICA MARTINEZ
--f638f795-7d02-45d8-887b-2c87660f945d--
I mean: come on! Do people really fall for this nonsense? As is my wont, I hunted around the web to find out what I could about this scam. It turns out that it is an increasingly more common attempt at identity theft.
My mind being what it is (for whatever that's worth) I have a question: What are the spiritual, moral, and civil issues involved with responding to the clowns who are trying to scam me with a scam of my own? What about just feeding them fraudulant data hoping they try to use it and get into trouble because of it? Also, beyond the question of right or wrong, what sort of social, finanicial or physical risk might someone be taking on if they tried such a counter-scam?
At the very least I think a movie about someone who tries to defraud some Internet fraudsters and ends up way over his or her head into something far larger or more sinister would be a lot of fun.
Has such a film been made, and I've missed it?